Gadsden State Community College breaks ground for new technical facility

Gadsden State Community College has officially broken ground on their new Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Skills Training Center.

The state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot facility will be constructed on the East Broad Campus in Gadsden. It will host 10 laboratories, seven classrooms, 11 offices, a multipurpose room, 10 tool and storage rooms, a storm shelter, a testing suite, a kitchen and serving area, a break room and six restroom areas. The center will also feature glass viewing areas that allow prospective students and industry partners to have laboratory visibility during tours; a safety entrance for students loading and unloading from cars or buses; and a digital display with information for job seekers and industry partners.

“This facility will provide a modern, state-of-the-art space for students to train for extremely high-tech careers that are in high demand and have high wages,” said Alan Smith, dean of Workforce Development at Gadsden State. “It will allow us to expand capacity to serve more students and provide specific training in an effort to support workforce development and economic development needs. It will give us the ability to increase training capacity by modernizing our facilities and creating a training center for technical dual-enrolled students, traditional college students and students who need non-degree, short-term training.”

The Gadsden State Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Skills Training Center was identified as a needed project through the Alabama Community College System’s (ACCS) ASPIRE 2030 initiative, which provides funding for facility upgrades and new construction for all levels of education in Alabama. A recent economic impact study shows that Gadsden State College has provided over $200 million in added income during 2021 to their service area, which includes Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Calhoun and St. Clair counties. The study also shows that Gadsden State supports 3,555 jobs in the community.

“A student from Gadsden State has a return of $6.90 in higher future earnings for every dollar students invest in their education,” Senator Andrew Jones said. “Who else can provide that rate of return? It’s pretty amazing. We need to make sure our young people understand that they can get a skill or a credential at Gadsden State and make just as much if not more than those with academic degrees. I’m excited about the potential of this new facility.”

Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) is the architect for the project, in addition to providing civil engineering, environmental, surveying, landscape architecture and geotechnical engineering services.