The University of Hartford announced it will launch an aerospace engineering program for undergraduate students.

UHart’s College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture will start offering the course in the fall, 2021 semester, according to the university. It will include hands-on instruction on new technologies, and building relationships with people in the aerospace manufacturing field.

“The new program is launching at a time when the field of aerospace engineering is growing,” UHart said in a statement announcing the program. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects this industry to see 3% job growth nationally and 7.3% job growth locally in Connecticut over a 10-year period.”

The program also comes at a time when Connecticut is making explicit efforts to boost the state’s manufacturing industry. Gov. Ned Lamont installed Colin Cooper as Connecticut’s first-ever chief manufacturing officer in 2019, and manufacturing training has been a key part of workforce development efforts in recent years.