JWCC Workforce Development Center Expansion Project Groundbreaking
The official groundbreaking ceremony of John Wood’s Workforce Development Center (WDC) Expansion Project was held on September 7, at 10:30 a.m., located at 2710 North 42nd Street, Quincy.
More than seventy-five people were in attendance to commemorate the groundbreaking, including community members, business partners, key stakeholders and legislators.
JWCC President Michael Elbe shared. “This expansion project, along with the new JWCC Agricultural Sciences Complex near Baylis, demonstrates the College’s continued commitment to the district and our industry partners in the Tri-State region. John Wood continues to invest in workforce training in the areas of manufacturing, agriculture, transportation/logistics, health sciences and many other career technical programs.”
The WDC expansion project is assisted by a federal grant titled: ‘EDA Economic Adjustment Assistance Program Grant’. The grant was awarded to JWCC in June of 2021. The total project estimate is supported by the $3.033M federal grant. The contracted firms are Klingner & Associates/BLDD and Maas Construction. Estimated project completion date is the fall of 2023.
“The College is expanding our career education programs, and these training programs all require physical space to conduct hands-on training,” shared Andy Sprague, JWCC Board of Trustees secretary. “Leveraging federal grant dollars is an excellent opportunity to provide in-demand programs and state-of-the-art facilities for this region to support the workforce needs of the Tri-State area.”
Once completed, the project will provide state-of-the-art training opportunities for students to gain relevant skills in the most in-demand fields to meet the area’s work force needs, creating and retaining head-of-household positions, attract private investment and strengthening resiliency throughout the region.
Great River Economic Development President Kyle A. Moore stated, “With the workforce needs of our employers constantly changing, it is important we have a partner like John Wood Community College whose workforce programs are continuing to evolve at the same time. This new expansion will be vital to offer up-to-date training for in-demand skills such as robotics, welding and automation.”
The expansion will add 14,170-square-feet to JWCC’s WDC facility located at 2710 North 42nd Street in Quincy, including a new Truck Driver Training addition, expansion of the east side with a new physical building entrance, expanded space for HVAC, and business and industry training. A remodel of the current interior of the building will include expanded space for welding, industrial maintenance and manufacturing, robotics and automation, and flexible use space for new programs such as a virtual reality lab. A new vehicle road entrance off 42nd Street will lead to a larger parking area.
“It is exciting to be here as JWCC continues its expansion and commitment to grow the Workforce Development Center which will increase skills in our local workforce. This is another positive step forward for our region,” shared Quincy Mayor Mike Troup.
Event Speakers:
Michael Elbe, JWCC President
David Hetzler, JWCC Intern Dean Career Technical Education
Mike Troup, Quincy Mayor
Kent Snider, Adams County Board Chair
Kyle Moore, GREDF President
Chris Russell, Knapheide Vice President of Operations
Jil Tracy, Illinois State Senator
Andy Sprague, JWCC Board of Trustees
Pictured left to right: Don Hess JWCC Board of Trustees, Larry Fischer JWCC Board of Trustees, Dr. Randy Greenwell JWCC Board of Trustees, Andy Sprague JWCC Board of Trustees, Kyle Moore GREDF, Michael Elbe JWCC President, Jil Tracy Illinois State Senator, David Hetzler JWCC, Kent Snider Adams County Board, Mayor Mike Troup, Chris Russell Knapheide, Dave Rakers JWCC Foundation Board.
