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JAMESTOWN -- In 1958, a group of civic leaders and industrialists turned a former tuberculosis hospital in the woods west of Greensboro into what would become the fourth largest community college in the state.

If you've ever been a student at GTCC, how did it change your life? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

Its mission: Train local workers in manufacturing to use new technology.

Fifty years later Guilford Technical Community College offers courses in home gardening and advanced sciences, and more than 70 other programs. Its focus remains a familiar one: Train workers to use new technology.

The school has come full circle. What started as a product of economic development is now a major driver of it. The school has about 40,000 students more than 13,000 enrolled full time. It offers training programs directly linked to some of the area's biggest new industries, including aeronautics and biotechnology.

According to the school's own data, nearly every 2005 graduate found a job within one year of completing their program.

Despite the success over the years the school almost never existed.

Lee Kinard, executive assistant to the president at GTCC, just finished a book chronicling the school's 50-year history.

Among the most surprising bits of history Kinard, a former WFMY news anchor, came across was what a point of contention the school was.

A chasm grew between the school's early leadership and local officials who worried it might compete with area colleges.

The tech school, known then as Guilford Technical Institute, should only train workers, opponents argued. It should offer blue-collar workers a chance to better their prospects, school officials hoped.

"I got the impression, 'OK, we're going to pull people off the street and train them,'" Kinard said, reflecting on his research of the school's founding. "And that's basically what they did and look how much it matured since then."

The battle over what direction the school should take continued for almost 20 years. During that time GTCC began offering nursing programs, high school equivalency courses and eventually associate degree programs.

As the school matured, its role in the community changed as well. Most importantly, it became a major player in economic development.

"What's interesting now is, we've moved to the partnership thing," Kinard said.

One of the school's recent partnerships is with HondaJet. The jet maker moved its headquarters to Greensboro last year and will employ about 70 people to build jet engines.

The first 18 mechanics to help build those engines are taking a five-hour course, five days a week at GTCC's Aviation Center off Regional Road. The company has worked with the school to get students trained and FAA certified by December 2009.

Steve Saunders is the man tasked with seeing this first class of students and future students through the process. Saunders, a retired Air Force pilot and airplane mechanic, has taught at the school since 1997.

It doesn't take long for his students to find work here and abroad after finishing the program, he says.

"You send me the people and I'll train them," he said in a room full of plane cockpits used to train pilots and mechanics.

At 23 years old, Trevor McDonald is among the youngest students in Saunders' mechanics class heading for HondaJet. "It just seemed like an interesting thing to do," he said. "An opportunity, anyway. A rare opportunity these days."

The program started in January and McDonald is hopeful he will complete it and start working on those jet engines by 2010.

Rob Bencini, Guilford County's economic development point man, said GTCC's ability to partner with local government, economic development groups and companies makes it a unique asset.

"Nothing else really fits like GTCC does in that role," he said.

The school has been tapped in recent years for work force development, he said, and has yet to let anyone down.

As the school's role in the Triad's future becomes bigger, Bencini said he would like to see an increased emphasis on basic skills education, such as math and reading. Students leave the school with advanced technical skills to land a job, but they will need the basic skills to continue that learning process.

"Learning how to learn may be one of the most critical elements for job security in the future," Bencini said.

It's that type of feedback GTCC President Don Cameron will be looking for Friday morning when the school hosts a symposium with 193 invited local business leaders.

In a third-floor office in the school's Medlin Building named for the most influential of Cameron's predecessors Cameron said community leaders have identified five major clusters of economic development best suited for this area.

"I think Guilford Tech will write its strategic plan for the next five years after that meeting," Cameron said.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com