Programs
Overview of Program
Have you ever wanted to make something? To use your hands or technology to create? Then you want to be a manufacturer, someone who takes raw materials and turns them into something more. Central Louisiana Technical Community College’s many manufacturing options can get you there. Whether it’s a six-month certificate program or a two-year technical degree, the skills you need are here, waiting for you.
Career Paths
Still in high school? You can get an early start. Students can dual enroll while in high school and take CLTCC classes at a lower rate, often paid for by the school district with no cost to the student. They can start as early as junior year and on average earn 24 hours by the time they graduate from high school. That’s about two semesters of college completed before freshman year even starts.
Want to learn more about manufacturing? Start with C4M at CLTCC. The certificate program is your first step. The 15-hour program builds the core skills you need to get that entry-level position at a manufacturer like RoyOMartin and Gilchrist in just six months. You also can earn a state-recognized credential from LED FastStart to put you even further ahead.
A second semester of classes allows you to hone your skills in a field of specialization. Choose from automation and controls; millwright; machine tool technology and industrial instrumentation. Get hands-on training with a potential employer through an internship or co-op related to your field.
Want to be more competitive in the job field? Stay at CLTCC for another semester and complete a certificate in the specialty you choose. With 12 more hours in automation and controls you earn a certificate to be an industrial electronics technician. Twelve hours in millwright leads to a certificate to be a millwright apprentice. Fifteen hours in machine tool technology earns you a certificate to be a CNC operator, and 11 hours in instrumentation earns a certificate to be an electrical technician.
With 17 additional credit hours in automation and controls.
Earn a diploma in a specialized field during your fourth semester at CLTCC. Here’s what you’ll need to complete a technical diploma in automation and controls; millwright; machine tool technology and industrial instrumentation:
- 17 hours in automation and controls earns you a diploma in industrial manufacturing
- 17 hours in millwright courses earns a diploma in industrial manufacturing – millwright
- 14 more hours in machine tool technology leads to a diploma in industrial manufacturing – machine tool technology
- 18 hours in instrumentation earns a technical diploma in industrial manufacturing – instrumentation and electrical technician
With another semester at CLTCC and some general education courses you can complete an Associate of Applied Science degree in technical studies. Your credits transfer to a four-year university like Northwestern State University or LSUA if you want to keep going for a bachelor’s.
Why Enroll?
And it’s a launching point. You don’t have to stop with C4M. You can build on that knowledge four more times, specializing with a technical diploma or earning an associate’s degree. That makes you better at your job, more essential to your employer and higher paid.
Advantages of Completing the Program
2. You can start off making $20,000-$30,000, but every level of education pushes that number higher. Take for example RoyOMartin, where starting pay is $13.35 an hour and the average work week is 45 hours. That’s more than $30,000 right at the start.
3. As skills grow through work experience as well as further training at CLTCC you will become more valuable and your pay would increase. Average pay at the plywood facility after one year is 9.5 percent higher than the starting rate, and after two years is over 15 percent higher. Average hourly employee pay is over $18 an hour – that’s over $42,000 a year.
4. Get a certificate in manufacturing in just six months. Stick around for longer and get further ahead with options ranging from a technical diploma to an associate’s degree from CLTCC.
5. Start while in high school with dual enrollment, and cut that time in half.