John Wood Community College (JWCC) celebrated the ribbon cutting ceremony for its Workforce Development Center (WDC) expansion project on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. The event was held at the WDC, located at 2710 North 42nd Street in Quincy.
The expansion added 14,170 square feet to JWCC’s WDC facility, including a new Truck Driver Training addition, expanded space for HVAC and business and industry training, and a remodel of the current interior to include expanded spaces for welding, mixed/virtual reality learning, industrial maintenance and manufacturing, robotics and automation, and flexible use-space for new programs. Additionally, a new vehicle entrance off 42nd Street and a larger parking area were added. A new computer-aided design lab was sponsored by Gardner Denver, and the community commons area was funded by the Rotary Club of Quincy.
The $6 million expansion was supported by a $3 million Federal Economic Adjustment Assistance Program grant awarded to JWCC in June 2021. College and private funding covered the remaining cost of the project. Klingner & Associates was the architect for the project and Maas Construction served as general contractor.
Key speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony included:
Dr. Bryan Renfro, JWCC President
David Hetzler, JWCC Dean of Career Technical Education
Kyle Moore, President of the Great River Economic Development Foundation
Jason Weber, Vice President of Engineering at Gardner Denver/IRCO
Chris Koetters, JWCC Truck Driver Training Instructor
Nick Weiman, Knapheide Manufacturing Engineer and JWCC alumnus
“This has been a collaboration among business, industry, and community leaders to leverage Federal dollars to ensure this region has a state-of-the-art training facility,” JWCC President Dr. Bryan Renfro shared. “The expansion will help us build on our efforts to keep pace with the evolving technical skills needed to meet the region’s workforce needs. This means providing customized training to area businesses, upskilling existing workers, and continuing to build a pipeline of students to sustain and grow our region’s industries.”
