On Thursday, Kent Suiters, executive director of business transformation at GE Appliances, a Haier company, had the honor of presenting Jefferson Community and Technical College’ (JCTC) Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology (AMIT) program a Silver Fleur-de-Lis Award during the Greater Louisville Inc (GLI) annual meeting.

JCTC earned the award for the AMIT program's continued innovation and creative development of homegrown advanced manufacturing talent. 

According to Deloitte, the manufacturing skills gap is estimated at a staggering 2.1 million jobs unfilled by 2030.

Success in advanced manufacturing matters to the vitality of communities. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, manufacturing has the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. 

In fact, for every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, $2.79 is added to the economy.

In Louisville, colleges and manufacturers are working together to solve the problem. The JCTC AMIT program is working on solutions providing the critical skills training needed in a community with a long legacy of manufacturing excellence.

“Companies like GE Appliances rely on these advanced manufacturing skills being taught through AMIT to perform our most essential operational functions and to keep our supply chain moving,” Suiters said. “That’s why we were thrilled to support the program.”

As a leading corporate partner, GE Appliances has supported the work of the program though contributions that include equipment, materials and funding.

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