At a community and industry event held at the Kia Georgia Training Center in West Point, Georgia, Siemens Digital Factory, U.S. President, Raj Batra, announced the donation of $100,000 in automation hardware and expert training to support career pathways in manufacturing and engineering at the THINC College & Career Academy located in LaGrange.

During the event, Governor Nathan Deal emphasized Georgia’s commitment to further fostering public-private-academic partnerships to train the workforce of the future. “We value the continued investments from Kia and Siemens in Georgia and we respect the vision of the companies’ leadership,” said Deal. “The strong relationships between the company, the community and the state are a model for the kind of partnerships we strive for, as we cultivate the next generation workforce.”

THINC, designed as a public charter program for high school students in Troup County, was created by a diverse, public-private partnership, offering students the ability to earn college credit at West Georgia Technical College, Point University and LaGrange College, as part of the Move On When Ready Dual Enrollment program.

Since its opening in 2009, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia has provided more than $3.54 million in support, funding and scholarships to THINC, including its Power to Surprise Innovation Center. In addition to offering career pathways that include manufacturing and engineering, THINC also teaches students 13 key fundamental soft skills, such as teamwork, problem solving, communication and cooperation.

Siemens, in partnership with its local distributor, AWC, Inc., will provide automation hardware for THINC’s mechatronics laboratory, where students will receive hands-on training, for example, by programming robotic movements. “By partnering with Siemens, THINC mechatronic students will be fully prepared to pursue their career choice, while also being able to offer valuable skills to the future workforce. As a steward of training the next generation of manufacturing employees, we need to make experiential learning a greater focus of our education – this is where our partnership with KMMG and THINC is a natural fit, ensuring students are trained and fluent with one of the most popular and powerful brands in automation,” says Raj Batra, President, Siemens Digital Factory, U.S.

THINC joins hundreds of educational institutions across the country as part of the Siemens Cooperates with Education program, whereby schools partner with Siemens on leading edge industrial technologies in their classrooms, research projects and workforce development initiatives. SCE was established to provide support through equipment, software, instructor and technical guidance. This is the latest of a series of investments as part of Siemens overall commitment to address the workforce skills gap.

During the event, Georgia policy makers, local business leaders and manufacturing executives gathered to discuss best practices, trends and challenges in workforce development. In addition to Gov. Deal’s address, attendees heard from Stuart C. Countess, Chief Administrative Officer, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia; Paul Ryan, VP of Trade and Competitiveness, Association of Global Automakers; Chris Carr, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development; Matt Arthur, Deputy Commissioner, Technical College System of Georgia; Martin Pleyer, Chief Operating Officer, Grenzebach and Gail Norris, Director, Technical Training Services, Siemens. According to Batra, the automation hardware being donated to THINC is the same type of equipment that can be found in more than 90 percent of automotive factories globally, including KMMG.

Siemens has approximately 2,500 employees in Georgia, primarily in the metropolitan Atlanta area, which is headquarters for three divisions in the U.S., including Digital Factory, Energy Management and Process Industries & Drives. Siemens has a long-standing relationship with Georgia Tech, pursuing manufacturing innovation through software, conducting frontier-pushing research that supports digital product development. Additionally, in a collaborative effort with the Georgia Workforce Initiative, Siemens established a Manufacturing Pathways Program with Lanier Technical College and South Forsyth High School featuring a work study program for careers in manufacturing.