CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION CENTER One of the best ways to build work skills is by working in an appliedlearning setting. From the moment students walk through the door of the Construction Education Center, they will not just be going to college— they will be going to a work site. “Going to work” at the 100,000 ft² CEC will mean practicing welds in a lab or high-tech simulator, building components to a modular home with in a large collaborative workspace, reading construction documents on an iPad or working out the team project schedule in a huddle room. In addition to trade-specific labs, tool cribs and shared work spaces, there will be rooms for seminars and broadcasts from real-world, real-time construction projects. Scheduled to open in fall 2017, the CEC plans to train 1,300 students annually in Architectural Drafting and Design; Civil Engineering; Construction Technology; Electrical Technology; Heating,
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Welding programs in a centralized location. “With all these programs under one roof, students will work with other trades and see projects move completely through the planning, installation and quality control phases,” said Nate Barry, dean of the CEC. “Cross-collaboration and increased communication between areas will allow us to enhance training for students and create a more real-world experience.” Having students trained in a realworld setting is just what the region’s growing construction industry is looking for. To ensure the success of the CEC, Metropolitan Community College is working closely with industry partners to align classroom curriculum with ever-changing industry needs and identify equipment that students will be trained on to be ready for the job site on day one.
“State-of-the-art technology and equipment, from iPads to 3-D modeling and virtual reality, will be strategically imbedded into every room,” said Barry. The construction industry has benefitted significantly from the incorporation of technology to enhance and streamline its daily operations—and training at the CEC will reflect this shift. “The presence of technology in the construction trades is not limited to multi-million dollar projects,” said Barry. “The training students will receive at the CEC will prepare them for job sites, both small and large, that demand workers skilled in tech tools. Our ultimate goal is to make MCC our area’s go-to source for quality construction talent.”
Construction Education Center
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