High school students from across the northwest Georgia region and members of the community will get a chance to explore various industrial careers and skilled trades when Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) holds its first Industrial Career Day of the year on Friday, Sept. 13, at the Floyd County Campus in Rome.

Due to popular demand, GNTC will host a second Industrial Career Day later this year. The next Industrial Career Day will be held on the Whitfield Murray Campus in Dalton on Friday, Oct. 18.

The activities for the Sept. 13 Industrial Career Day will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Industrial Alley on GNTC’s Floyd County Campus. The alley is located adjacent to Buildings B, C, D and F which contain a majority of the college’s industrial programs. This will provide a centralized location with access to most of the industrial labs on the Rome campus. Additional industrial programs from other GNTC campuses will set up displays and activities in Industrial Alley.

Visitors should report to the front desk in the A Building on Industrial Career Day. The event is free and open to the public.

Industrial program directors will be on-hand to discuss their programs and provide tours of their labs. There will be demonstrations, simulators and hands-on learning activities for the industrial programs offered by GNTC. Local employers and former students also will be present to speak with participants about the benefits of learning a skilled trade.

The featured guest speaker for the Floyd County Campus Industrial Career day will be Josh Bone, a renowned professional speaker in the construction industry. Bone has been implementing, training and presenting construction technology solutions to AEC&O (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Owners) professionals for more than two decades.

Bone will speak to students and attendees in the conference room in the H building at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

T-shirts will be distributed, while supplies last, and snacks will be provided.

Featured GNTC industrial programs will include Air Conditioning Technology, Auto Collision Repair, Automotive Technology, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Commercial Truck Driving, Construction Management, Cosmetology, Diesel Equipment Technology, Mechanics Electrical Systems Technology, Horticulture, Industrial Systems Technology, Instrumentation and Controls, Precision Machining and Manufacturing and Welding and Joining Technology.

As part of the day’s activities, one of the qualifying rounds for the 2019 IDEAL National Championship will take place in the electrical lab in Building C. The competition is a way to showcase the skills of electrical professionals, students and apprentices. Winners with the fastest times from each of the territories holding qualifying events are awarded tool kits and the opportunity to compete in the 2019 IDEAL National Championship. The national competition will be held Nov. 7-9 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla. and over $500,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded.

In the qualifying competitions, electricians will use IDEAL tools to complete a timed challenge that involves problem-solving skills across five categories: pulling wire, cutting, stripping, termination, and testing. Contestants will be evaluated on speed and accuracy.

“When you learn a skilled trade that’s one of the things that can’t be taken away from you,” said Scottie Carter, director of Industrial Electrical Controls and coordinator for the IDEAL Qualifying Round in northwest Georgia.