Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore presented a $700,000 check at Ivy Tech Community College’s Kokomo campus Monday, a contribution to support the College’s Industry 4.0 Lab. Ethan Heicher, Ivy Tech Kokomo Interim Chancellor, was on hand to accept the donation.
“I believe that we as a City have a responsibility to support workforce development,” Mayor Moore said. “Ivy Tech Kokomo provides educational opportunities for students to develop skills that will enable them to live, work and thrive right here in Kokomo. So we are committed to helping Ivy Tech continue those initiatives.”
Kokomo’s donation supports Ivy Tech’sIndustry 4.0 Initiative, which is aimed at training highly skilled employees needed by local manufacturers.
Heicher said the City’s donation is allowing Ivy Tech to get its new Smart Manufacturing and Digital Integration program off the ground.
“The funding supports the installation of the program’s Amatrol Industry 4.0 training cell,” Heicher said. “Occupying a 30- by 30-foot space, this scaled-down trainer offers students in the first year of the program hands-on experience in the digitally integrated, robotic world of advanced manufacturing.”
Heicher said the College is grateful to the City of Kokomo as a lead donor in Ivy Tech’s statewide “human capital campaign” that aims to raise a total of $285 million to strengthen the critical role Ivy Tech plays in the future of Indiana. “The Smart Manufacturing and Digital Integration is just one of many programs that will help prepare the highly-skilled employees needed by employers,” he added. “With the support of individuals, businesses and governmental units across the state, the ‘Invest IN Indiana’ campaign is an investment in the Hoosier State’s future economic success.”
Ivy Tech Kokomo serves Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski and Tipton counties.