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Sharde Vessels, left, makes a hole to fit a screw while instructor Justin Stanley watches and gives feedback at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, in the Advanced Manufacturing Center. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org

The Connecticut General Assembly’s Commerce Committee heard testimony on two bills that would expand education and training for the state’s advanced manufacturing sector.

Senate Bill 1089 seeks to create apprenticeship programs in the fields of mechatronics, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing and related fields. House Bill 6755 would create an advisory group “to facilitate the expansion of an advanced manufacturing technology center at a regional community-technical college in the state.”

(For more on the state’s work to prepare students at all levels for careers in advanced manufacturing, check out our in-depth series, “The Next Stage.”)

Erica covered economic development for CT Mirror from 2021 to 2024. She is now CT Mirror's state policy editor. Before moving to Connecticut to join the staff, Erica worked in Los Angeles for public radio’s Marketplace and, before that, for the Wall Street Journal's L.A. bureau. She grew up in Minneapolis, Minn., graduated from Haverford College and earned a master’s in journalism from the University of Southern California.