Gadsden State Community College cuts ribbon on ASPIRE 2030 Initiative: Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Skills Training Center

Gadsden State Community College cut the ribbon on its Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Skills Training Center that will provide hands-on learning in a high-tech environment for students seeking careers in specialized fields.

The state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot facility sits on the East Broad Campus in Gadsden. It hosts 10 laboratories, seven classrooms, 11 offices, multipurpose room, 10 tool and storage rooms, a storm shelter, testing suite, kitchen and serving area, break room and six restroom areas.

The center also features glass viewing areas that offer prospective students and industry partners 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.

Majors that will utilize the center include mechatronics, industrial automation, precision machining, mechanical design technology, additive manufacturing and electronics engineering. These are high-demand, high-wage industries that many students have shown interest in. There will also be an apprenticeship-style program for industrial automation majors.

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.

In addition to this, Gadsden State was granted $12 million in the Education Supplemental Appropriation Bill approved by legislators and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. This additional funding was used to complete construction and provide equipment.

A recent economic impact study shows that Gadsden State Community College provided over $200 million in added income in 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.

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

Classes will be held in the center for the first time in the 2024 Fall semester.