JEFFERSONVILLE, IN – GE donated $150,000 in Amatrol equipment, curriculum and training to the Bullitt County Area Technology Center and Jeffersontown High School.

Mayor Greg Fischer, GE President and CEO Chip Blankenship, Amatrol President and CEO Paul Perkins and other community leaders took part in a press conference to announce the donation.

Amatrol and Technical Training Aids have partnered with GE for its first-ever Greater Louisville Manufacturing Workforce Development Day, which hopes to catalyze a strong hiring pipeline to aid manufacturing growth in Greater Louisville, and generate further awareness and engagement in manufacturing.

Paul Perkins said the new equipment will introduce students to technologies commonly used in today’s manufacturing environments.

"Our mission with this donation is to familiarize high school students with modern manufacturing careers and allow them to explore manufacturing as a career choice," he said.

Manufacturing Workforce Development Day is a half-day manufacturing event for high schools students from Bullitt County and Jeffersontown High School. More than 30 students and educators heard from experts from the manufacturing field, met the current class of advanced manufacturing technicians, and toured GE Appliances’ dishwasher plant.

Bullitt County and Jefferson County Public Schools are committed to getting students ready for manufacturing jobs, and the Manufacturing Workforce Development Day donation will catalyze further growth and development of their manufacturing training programs and students.

The three-part day included:

• Corporate contribution to two area high schools

• Summit of manufacturing leaders and community stakeholders, who will develop a collaborative plan for solving the workforce crisis

• Manufacturing experience for high school seniors

The event addressed the complexities that accompany a surging lack of qualified manufacturing workers.

A workforce shortage confronts Greater Louisville manufacturers, despite resurgence in appealing jobs in manufacturing.

“One of the most significant problems we face is the lack of skilled applicants for manufacturing jobs…GE Appliances is committed to putting the necessary resources and focus to ensure that our community can thrive in this manufacturing renaissance that is before us," said Chip Blankenship, president and CEO of GE Appliances.

For more informaiton, visit www.ge.com/appliances and www.ttaweb.com.