HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Wallace State Community College’s Center for Career and Workforce Development and Y-Tec Keyflex Toyotetsu Alabama (YKTA) in Madison have agreed to a Tool and Die Maker Registered Apprenticeship.
The Tool and Die Maker apprenticeship joins an Industrial Maintenance Pre-Apprenticeship program, the FAME and Mercedes Tech programs, and a variety of other work-based learning opportunities offered through the college.
“We’re continuing to meet the needs of our industry partners, working to supply them with a pipeline of student candidates who are interested in earning a career in skilled labor,” said Christina Holmes, Wallace State’s Apprenticeship and Work-Based learning coordinator. “Students interested in this apprenticeship are eligible to have their tuition, books and tools paid for while also enrolled at Wallace State. It’s a fantastic opportunity, and we’re excited about it.”
YKTA, located off Greenbrier Parkway in Madison, is an on-site, tier one, auto supplier for Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA, providing stamped metal chassis and body components.
Bob Crull, YKTA’s general manager for Engineering and Maintenance, visited Wallace State’s Machine Tool Technology and Tool and Die Technology students on Tuesday, discussing the apprenticeship opportunities.
“Tool and Die makers are becoming a dying breed. They can be hard to find and even harder to pull away from a good job. Therefore, we want to get our foot in the door and build relationships with skilled students at Wallace State. We’re in it for the long haul. We want to develop them at a pivotal age,” Crull said.
YKTA broke ground in Madison in May 2019 and began production earlier this year. Crull said the facility is 750,000 square feet.
“Our Tool and Die maintenance team preps and corrects the tools before they go to the stamping presses. We have five stamping presses,” Crull said. “This apprenticeship and other opportunities on our campus are tremendous.”
The Tool and Die apprenticeship curriculum consists of five semesters, including a welding component near the end of the degree plan. Graduates of the program will earn an AAS degree in Machine Tool Technology with a Tool and Die focus.
Tool and Die makers analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate machine tools and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges and machinists’ hand tools.
Wallace State and YKTA have previously formed a partnership through the North Central Alabama Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (F.A.M.E.) program, which provides apprenticeship opportunities for students as an Advanced Manufacturing Technician.
“We have Wallace State FAME students working their way into a full-time maintenance job over the next two years,” Crull said.
Mike Bridier from the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship in Montgomery also visited the program on Tuesday.
For more information about apprenticeships and other work-based learning programs at Wallace State, contact Christina Holmes at 256-352-8120 or christina.holmes@wallacestate.edu
For more information about YKTA, visit https://yktal.com/
