This fall Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ (EICC) career and technical programs across the Quad Cities region will move into new facilities where students will be trained for future manufacturing, automotive and healthcare jobs. The new campus investments come as the result of voters overwhelmingly approving a $40 million bond referendum in March 2021 for EICC […]
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This fall Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ (EICC) career and technical programs across the Quad Cities region will move into new facilities where students will be trained for future manufacturing, automotive and healthcare jobs.
The new campus investments come as the result of voters overwhelmingly approving a $40 million bond referendum in March 2021 for EICC to expand its Career and Technical Education (CTE) facilities. The Fall 2022 semester will see students training in new classrooms and labs and utilizing new simulators on multiple campuses in eastern Iowa.
“This facilities expansion is motivated by our commitment to ensure members of our communities have the skills they need to compete successfully in an increasingly competitive workplace,” said Don Doucette, retiring chancellor of EICC. “The other side of this coin is to ensure our businesses have the skilled workforce they need to be successful.”
EICC has developed a number of Career Academies over the past few years to help give area high-school students access to technical training needed to land the many jobs employers are looking to fill.
Jeremy Pickard, dean of instruction at Muscatine Community College (MCC), told the QCBJ the region’s smaller, rural community schools are no longer able to support programs like auto tech and welding.
“Our Career Academies help high school students get started with this access to career, technical-type training,” Mr. Pickard said.
According to Mr. Pickard, employers throughout the region such as auto dealers, HVAC companies, and healthcare providers have told the colleges they need well-trained workers. The college district’s CTE programs will help students discover career paths and award them credentials that qualify them for high-demand jobs.
Construction is expected to be completed for new buildings this fall on both the Muscatine and Clinton Community College (CCC) campuses. Each will feature Automotive Technology and Healthcare programs with Career Academies open to area high school and non-high school students. Both MCC and CCC are also developing additional CTE curriculum in advanced manufacturing, agriculture, construction technology, culinary arts, and welding to be taught in the new facilities.
Also in the pipeline are new and expanded CTE facilities on the college district’s other campuses. They include:
- A new CCC Career and Technical center will be completed in fall of 2023 at the Crossroads Industrial Park in DeWitt.
- Scott Community College (SCC) plans an addition of a renovated Allied Healthcare Wing on its Bettendorf campus. It is scheduled to open in 2023.
- SCC is planning an addition at the Blong Technology Center.
- EICC has plans to build a new Ag Innovation Center in Scott County in 2024.