Hudson Valley’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology program readies graduates for careers as CNC machinists, toolmakers and industrial technicians, in addition to marketing, sales, procurement and supervisory roles. It’s the only community college training program of this kind within 125 miles and states a 100 percent job placement rate for graduates, with nearly all students securing work prior to graduation.

By 2020, more than 200,000 new openings are anticipated for machinists and industrial maintenance technicians nationally. With the opening of the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills, Hudson Valley will be well-positioned to help fill the shortage of well-trained, skilled craftspeople and assist manufacturing firms looking to expand, create new jobs and contribute to the region’s ongoing economic health.

CAMS is a one-stop manufacturing technology center that will train students on the newest machine tools, equipment, tooling and software needed for employment with manufacturers in the Northeast. The building’s design furnishes corporate partners with handy access to offices and conference space adjacent to faculty offices, student classrooms and labs. Facilities will be available for everything ranging from corporate demonstration purposes to shared training activities and meetings and events that connect the college to its workforce partners.

The Hudson Valley Community College Foundation endeavored for more than two years to secure gifts toward the construction of the venue, including a leadership challenge gift of $1 million from the Gene Haas Foundation, a longtime partner of Hudson Valley and provider of the equipment used in student training; a $2.9 million grant through Empire State Development as part of the New York State Regional Economic Development Council awards; and $1.5 million in federal funding through the U.S. Federal Economic Development Administration, as well as numerous contributions from other local partners, alumni and friends.

The college partnered with several local construction companies to build CAMS, which was designed by the Troy-based Mosaic Associates Architects. Contractors included: Bette & Cring Construction Group of Latham for general construction; Tri-Valley Plumbing & Heating, Inc. of Schenectady for plumbing; John W. Danforth Co. of Ballston Spa for mechanical; T&J Electrical Associates, LLC of Clifton Park for electrical; Comalli Group, Inc. of Albany for communications cabling; and Atlantic Testing Laboratories, Limited of Clifton Park for special inspections. The college broke ground on the building in April 2018.

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TROY, N.Y. — The Gene Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills (CAMS) will be a $14.5 million state-of-the-art training and education facility on Hudson Valley’s Troy campus.

CAMS is envisioned as a one-stop hub to support employee training and recruitment. The building’s design provides corporate partners with access to offices and conference space adjacent to faculty offices, student classrooms and labs. Facilities will be available for corporate demonstration purposes, shared training activities, meetings and events that connect the college to its workforce partners more than ever before.

Troy-based architecture firm Mosaic Associates designed the 37,000-square-foot facility that is expected to be completed this year.

To make CAMS a reality, public sector and private industry investment was crucial. In early 2015, the Hudson Valley Community College Foundation established a capital campaign committee comprised of industry partners and longtime faculty and set out to raise $3.25 million for construction and equipment.

The Advanced Manufacturing Technology program prepares graduates for immediate employment with high-tech manufacturing companies performing advanced machining processes that produce tooling and components used to make everything from electronics and defense equipment, to power generators and aerospace apparatus.

The center will allow the college to double enrollment in the degree program, plus add a new program to fill additional technically related jobs in management, sales, marketing and procurement. The project kicked off in 2015 with a $1 million leadership challenge gift from the Gene Haas Foundation and advanced in August 2016 with a $125,000 donation from Albany-based Simmons Machine Tool Corporation for the construction of a state-of-the-art electro/mechanical industrial maintenance lab.

Mosaic’s design houses student machining labs in the two-story west side of the building, flooded with natural light from clerestory windows. In the east wing, technical labs occupy the first floor and classroom and CAD labs fill the second. A center atrium connects the formal south entrance to the campus quad entrance, with visual transparency from north to south through the building. Highlighted within the center core are student capstone projects and donor displays. Glazing also brightens the faculty and advisement offices and conference rooms at the north facade.

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