SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – Ivy Tech Community College is expanding in Shelbyville to include a new state-of-the-art Advanced Manufacturing Lab focused on preparing students for manufacturing careers, including advanced automation and robotics.
The new lab will transform more than 4,000 square feet of unused space at the Shelbyville campus into an immersive education and training area where students can learn through hands-on experience with real advanced manufacturing equipment.
Blue River Career Programs is providing Ivy Tech with the lab’s equipment including FANUC robotic arms found in plants in Shelby County and around the world.
Ivy Tech students with Advantage Shelby County scholarships who are studying advanced manufacturing will have the opportunity to learn in the Advanced Manufacturing Lab through apprenticeship cooperatives. The equipment will also be used to introduce advanced manufacturing careers to students from Shelby County high schools in early college programs through Ivy Tech.
Manufacturing is the largest employer by industry in Shelby County. More than 4,600 Shelby County residents worked in manufacturing as of 2022, which accounted for more than 19% of Shelby County’s workforce.
Additionally, more than 7,000 annual total production job openings are anticipated through 2031 in Indiana’s Economic Growth Region 5, which includes Shelby County, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The Ivy Tech Shelbyville Advanced Manufacturing Lab will be open to tour as part of an upcoming ribbon-cutting ceremony being planned for April 18.
