Generation Z, a demographic cohort comprised of people born from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s, is the first generation to have no memory of life before cell phones, laptops and widespread use of the Internet. Currently, members of Generation Z are in high school and college, and institutions like Greenville Technical College in Greenville, SC are recruiting and training them, alongside Millennials in their 20s and 30s, to form an advanced manufacturing workforce.
The technical college’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI), which opened in the fall of 2016, offers courses in industrial automation, robotics, CNC machining, manufacturing management, metrology, quality management, process design and Lean Six Sigma, among others. Paid for by a $25 million bond issued by Greenville County, the 100,000-square foot facility includes a metrology lab, prototyping lab and additive manufacturing area.