Davies Tech opens Center for Advanced Manufacturing
School will expand offerings for biotech, electrical engineering
LINCOLN Gathered together outside of William M. avies Jr. Career and Technical High School on Friday afternoon, school officials and alumni were joined in excitement by state legislators and representatives from state agencies waiting to get their first glimpse of the school’s recently-updated Center for Advanced Manufacturing.
The project includes state-of-the-art upgrades to the physical instructional shop, classroom spaces, and the purchase of new upgraded eTuipment to support avies’ manufacturing programs including biomanufacturing
technology, electrical and renewable energy, machine technology, and pre-engineering technology.
Davies Tech Director Adam Flynn-Tabloff could hardly contain his excitement for Friday s ribbon-cutting ceremony and for the large overhead garage doors to lift so the public could see the finished product.
For those that have been involved in the project, we
feel it s been a very long time coming,” Flynn-Tabloff said. This journey, he explained, began when Davies Tech received . million in Rhode Island apital Asset 3rotection funding, an initiative from ov. ina M. Raimondo and supported and passed by the eneral Assembly.
The completely-renovated facilities will now provide students with the best industry technology and tools available today, he said, which is precisely why he believed that Davies leads the pack to prepare its students for highwage jobs in the field, which in turn strengthens Rhode Island s economy.
These newly renovated areas will provide additional opportunities for students to continue receiving rigorous and high-Tuality training. 6upervisor of areer and Technical Education 6usan J. 9otto said, It is important for our students to graduate with high-level technical skills necessary to support the needs of our future workforce and or the academic foundation to continue career studies
in college.”
ommerce 6ecretary 6tefan 3ryor said manufacturing is strong in Rhode Island and there are continued investments in the workforce of the future” to ensure these manufacturing jobs of the future have a workforce pipeline.
We re so thrilled that Davies is the fine educational institution it is,” 3ryor said, saying that the school strengthens the future in manufacturing and many other disciplines.
Among the technology inside the state-of-the-art facility includes milling machines, -D printers, welders, sand blasters, and band saws, all of which are in place for our young people to learn firsthand and hands-on how to go about manufacturing professions,” 3ryor said.
We all know that Rhode Island is grounded in manufacturing, from 6later Mill forward to the heyday of manufacturing in our state to today, this is an important part of our heritage and our future,” 3ryor said. Making things is something we
do well in Rhode Island and need to continue to do.”
According to 3ryor, Rhode Island is presently home to more than , manufacturing companies which employ upwards of , Rhode Islanders. e also noted that the state s unemployment rate is now at . percent just below the national average of . percent and said that the economy of the 2cean 6tate is humming.”
We re on a roll in keeping our economy going, in emerging from a period of really tough economics. We have momentum We must create the pipelines for our young people to access these jobs, that s what Davies does par excellence,” he added.
Rhode Island Department of Education hief for Innovation 6tephen 2sborn explained that he s spent perhaps more time at Davies Tech than any other school, saying he s learned a lot” from Davies, lessons which are now being made into goals for children across the state. These three goals, he said, are that every student should graduate proficient in
math and English, everyone should graduate with college credit, and every child should graduate with work-based learning experience.
A lot of great and ama - ing work here embodies the spirit of what happens when folks come together. The school really embodies what we re hearing from colleges and universities, what they need for success,” 2sborn said.
6tate Rep. and ouse Finance ommittee hairman Marvin /. Abney D-Dist. , 1ewport, Middletown recalled a trip he made to 6t. /ouis recently, during which he toured a Boeing plant and learned how an aircraft is built from a single bolt on up. While at the facility, he noticed many workers performing several uniTue jobs and he asked where these employees came from. e was informed that many were from a technical school just around the corner from the Boeing plant.
Technical schools and what they do so is important. In these schools, kids learn more than just technical things,” he said. At schools such as Davies, today s youths are learning how to come to work and show up on time, how to dress for a job, and how to take and give orders.
6chools like this and institutions like this, it s all for a purpose of producing citi ens who are able to contribute to Rhode Island now and into the future,” Abney said.
6tate 6en. and 6enate 3resident Dominick J. Ruggerio D-Dist. , 3rovidence, 1orth 3rovidence hearkened back to Rhode Island s heyday as the manufacturing center of the world, but he Tuickly said I don t see why we can t go back to that.”
We have great institutions of learning such as Davies,” which he called the best-kept secret for a number of years.”
With the new center, Davies can flourish so students graduate with the educational background needed at high levels for technical skills and certifications needed for today s global economy,” the 6enate 3resident said.