A Workforce Model Just in Time for Manufacturing Day: A Student Tech Center in “Rocket City”

These HCT students are using an AC/DC training system to teach core principles behind direct and alternating current. All photos provided by Huntsville City Schools.

Manufacturing Day this year arrives at a time of mixed economic signals. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. lost 12,000 manufacturing jobs in August and 78,000 over the past year. But in Huntsville, Alabama, a newly opened technical education campus suggests one path forward.

The Huntsville Center for Technology (HCT) is a new, 81,000-square-foot facility that centralizes career and technical education (CTE) for Huntsville City Schools. At a cost of roughly $50 – $60 million, the center offers programs in precision machining, additive manufacturing, welding, automotive and industrial maintenance. The center’s mission is to teach not only technical skills, but also mirror real workplace environments where students are expected to demonstrate both technical competencies and essential soft skills.

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“That means a simulated workplace where they learn professionalism alongside machining and engineering,” says principal Zachary McWhorter.

The new Huntsville Center for Technology centralizes career and technical education (CTE) for Huntsville City Schools and offers programs in precision machining, additive manufacturing, welding, automotive and industrial maintenance.

Industry support is central to HCT’s model. Toyota Motor North America, through its Toyota USA Foundation, has committed nearly $11 million to Huntsville schools since 2023. While the first phase funded the INDTECH industrial technology program and teacher retention efforts, the latest $4.2 million extends support into elementary and middle schools, adding STEM coordinators and STEM coaches. Critically, the funding also includes “wraparound” services such as clothing, toiletries, school supplies and food, and includes specific strategies for parental engagement designed to improve student attendance and performance. It also includes funding for Greenpower USA electric race cars that students assemble, repair and race as part of their STEM training.

“The new funding lets us start earlier,” says Sydney Martin, a communications analyst for Toyota North America. “By embedding STEM into elementary and middle school classrooms, kids see these pathways before they reach high school.”

At the high school level, Toyota’s focus is on advanced manufacturing technicians — roles that require skills in electrical theory, robotics, hydraulics, pneumatics and safety that will be built into HCT’s industrial technology curriculum. Toyota sponsors students who continue into local community college programs where they can “earn and learn.” In a clear sign that the program is gaining traction, enrollment in HCT’s INDTECH program doubled from its first to its second year.

HCT’s labs include multiple Haas CNC machines, Markforged and EOS metal 3D printers and robotic arms — an equipment list that McWhorter says was shaped with input from regional employers. “We want students exposed to the same technology they’ll see on the job,” he says.

For local manufacturers, including job shops, the pipeline is easy to follow. Students leave with industry-recognized certifications, work-based learning experience and exposure to machining and automation. An annual job fair led by the city Chamber of Commerce connects seniors directly with employers offering direct-hire opportunities.

Toyota views Huntsville as a model that could and should be replicated. “Even if a company can’t fund a program, just bringing students into your workplace can make a difference,” Martin says. “We’ve seen lightbulbs go off when students connect what they’ve learned in the lab to what they see on the floor.”

While not every community can build a $60 million training facility, Huntsville shows that when employers and schools coordinate, technical education can align with workforce needs. On Manufacturing Day, this message feels particularly relevant: For shops struggling to find skilled labor, partnerships with local schools and educators must be a core strategy for building the next generation of machinists and technicians.