Machine tool classes start Wednesday at Young Memorial

An idea hatched nearly five years ago in a St. Mary Chamber of Commerce group will become a reality Wednesday at South Central Louisiana Technical College’s Young Memorial Campus in Morgan City.
Young Memorial and the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce hosted a news conference Monday to unveil its new machine tool program, which will officially start classes Wednesday.
South Central Louisiana Technical College Regional Director Earl Meador said many people in the community came together to get the machine tool program started.
Young Memorial partnered with Fletcher Technical Community College in Schriever to develop a machine tool technology curriculum. This program will consist of one, 16-week semester and can accommodate 15 students, according to a news release.
The new machine tool program was made possible by the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy, or WISE Fund.
The Legislature created the WISE Fund and the WISE Council during the 2014 legislative session. The purpose of the WISE fund is to provide incentives for postsecondary educational institutions to increase the number of certificates, diplomas and degrees awarded in high demand fields in Louisiana and to spur additional research and innovation in order to support economic development, the release stated.
With WISE funds, Young Memorial hired a full-time instructor and outfitted a lab space with supplies and equipment for training.
The idea for the machine tool course arose after local machine shop owners said they needed someone to teach basic machine tool skills, Meador said.
“They came to us. They needed people trained,” Meador said.
The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership St. Mary group spearheaded the effort to create the machine tool program, Meador said.
Former Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jason Bailey and other Leadership St. Mary committee members talked to Scott Tudury, owner of Apex CNC in Bayou Vista, who first brought to their attention the need for a program to train workers in basic machinist skills, Bailey said.
“We just started facilitating some discussions between Young Memorial, (former Young Memorial Campus Dean) Karl Young, the Chamber and a whole bunch of machine shops,” Bailey said.
There are about 70 machine shops between Amelia and Lafayette, Bailey said.
“That just goes to show you what kind of demand for machinists are here,” Bailey said.
Therefore, organizers got state officials involved in developing the program, and several years later the program came to fruition, Bailey said. Bailey encouraged others who see a need for a particular program to voice their opinions.
State Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Gray, said machinists are in the top 10 percent of jobs in demand today in the region. A strong math background is necessary to be a successful machinist, he said.
Harrison wants to give Louisiana residents the opportunities and skills they need to be able to stay in the state, he said.
State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, said local legislators were able to get the Legislature in Baton Rouge to understand the importance of funding such programs, Jones said.
The Young Memorial Campus in Morgan City isn’t the only area campus to receive money to fund new programs. Jones was recently able to get $1.64 million in state capital outlay money for the Port of West St. Mary to build a welding school, affiliated with Young Memorial, where other types of classes can be held as well.
Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bob Harrison said the machine tool program will allow many local students, who can’t afford to go to school elsewhere, to have bright futures.
The new machine tool program is starting out as just an introductory course bringing students into the industry and beginning them on their career paths, Meador said.
“The world’s changed. Our culture’s changed. We regularly get students in our shop program. We have to teach them what a screwdriver and a crescent wrench is,” Meador said.
“If you grew up in shop class in junior high you kind of laugh at that, but that’s the world we live in today. We really have to go back to very basic skills. It’s not that they don’t want to know. It’s just that the world has changed,” Meador said.
College leaders plan to examine what aspects of the course should be changed along the way to make sure Young Memorial meets the needs of businesses in the area, Meador said. The goal is for machine shops to hire graduates of the machine tool program, Meador said.
WISE funding will cover the majority of tuition for students who apply within the first year, leaving only a $300 fee, which could be covered through scholarship opportunities if the student is a Morgan City resident, allowing many students to attain this certificate for free, the news release stated.
Machine tool classes will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Students interested in applying for this program should contact Young Memorial’s Office of Admissions at 985-380-2957.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com