Michigan Maritime Manufacturing Students First to Graduate From Accelerated Training Program
Twenty-one students ranging from their 20s to their 50s are among the first to graduate from an accelerated Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) training program. The graduation ceremony was held on…
Oil tanker ship. Red Oil Tanker runing in the ocean sea. petroleum ship transportation import export fuel energy across red ocean sea. Vessel transport Gas to customs.
Twenty-one students ranging from their 20s to their 50s are among the first to graduate from an accelerated Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) training program. The graduation ceremony was held on Thursday, March 20, at the Student Community Center on South Campus in Warren.
“This really is an exceptional group of Michiganders, these 21. You came into this program from all different walks of life,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who attended the event. “We have a Coast Guard veteran, a caregiver in a group home, a grocery store clerk, an accounting student, and a library worker among many others. There's a mother and son duo here, too, which is just incredible.”
Whitmer observed that former Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro selected Macomb “because of the strong network of hands-on programs available to local high schools and community colleges.”
The U.S. Navy recently invested $15.4 million into the Macomb Community College's Michigan Technical Education Center to create a state-of-the-art training center. The training center offers an accelerated M3 training program in response to the Navy's plan to expand its submarine fleet to support national security.
The Navy's investment will support the M3 program through early 2027 and graduate up to 384 students. Part of the investment will include purchasing new CNC milling machines, lathes, and welding machines while constructing new labs and classrooms. Funding also permitted the hiring of program instructors.
According to a C&G news report, students enrolled in the M3 program can pursue welding or CNC machining. Individuals in the first cohort consisted of 11 welders and 10 CNC machinists. Students studied four commonly used types of welding: TIG (tungsten inert gas), MIG (metal inert gas,) flux-cored, and stick.
About half of the graduates already were hired at local companies, including Dynasty Fab, American Rheinmetall, RCO Engineering, and Schwartz Machine. The new hires signed employment contracts upon receiving their certificates at the graduation ceremony.
