Computer Integrated Machining Diploma ’16

When Grady Gills graduated from Gates County High School, he was certain that he had found the program for him at College of The Albemarle (COA), Computer Integrated Machining Diploma. “I had heard about the Machining program through a visit to COA that my high school had set up and it looked like a good option for me — a really cool program.”

Gills enrolled at COA in the fall of 2015. He first earned his Computer Integrated Machining certificate in December 2015 and received the Certificate Level II in May 2016. In July 2016, Gills received his Computer Integrated Machining Diploma and soon followed a job offer from Sumitomo Drive Technologies.

Hired right out of the program at COA, Gills started at Sumitomo Drive Technologies as a Machinist I, working in the shaft cell running Computer Numerical Control (CNC) lathes and the broach, a machining operation that moves over material to cut a predetermined shape. He also helped out in the gear cell running the CNC grinder. In less than two years, Gills was promoted to Machinist II and moved to the steel fab machining, where he currently runs the bridge mill.

Gills explained that he would recommend the Machining program at COA to anyone interested in that line of work. “The way the shop is set up at COA, it is nice and clean and the instructor, David Chambers, is really helpful. I had the right training and felt prepared when I started working at Sumitomo.”