Approximately 600 regional high school students and members of the community had a chance to see Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) new Whitfield Murray Campus Expansion and state-of-the-art industrial labs during Industrial Career Day on Friday, Oct 18.

The day was held to expose students to the many possibilities for future employment in the skilled workforce in Georgia and beyond.

“I am very excited about the positive impact that this campus is going to have on the local community,” said Gov. Brian P. Kemp during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new campus expansion in September.  

“We have been specifically targeting the northwest Georgia area and we know that Georgia Northwestern Technical College will equip the students that we need with the knowledge and skills necessary to learn a trade and to start having a meaningful career,” continued Kemp.

Students from Calhoun High School, Dalton High School, Morris Innovative High School, Gordon Central High School, Northwest Whitfield High School, Gordon County College and Career Academy, Phoenix High School, Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy, Dade County High School, Southeast Whitfield High School and more attended the event.

The industrial labs are housed side by side on Industrial Row on the Whitfield Murray Campus. This provided a centralized location with access to all the industrial labs on the Dalton campus. Additional industrial programs from other GNTC campuses set up booths outside and in the main atrium with activities, demonstrations and literature relevant to their programs.

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

Some of the industrial activities included a hammer and nail competition hosted by the Construction Management program, a front-end loader provided by C.W. Matthews, a welding simulator provided by the Welding and Joining Technology program and the Precision Machining and Manufacturing Technology program provided a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) demonstration.

Featured GNTC industrial programs included Air Conditioning Technology, Automation Engineering Technology, Automotive Technology, Aviation Maintenance Technology, CNC Technology, Commercial Truck Driving, Construction Management, Diesel Equipment Technology, Electrical Systems Technology, Flooring Production Operator and Technician, Industrial Systems Technology, Instrumentation and Controls, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Precision Machining and Manufacturing and Welding and Joining Technology.

This was GNTC’s second Industrial Career Day of the year. The first Industrial Career Day of the year took place on the Floyd County Campus in Rome on Sept. 13. The second Industrial Career Day in Dalton was added due to popular demand.