Parkland College in Champaign and Lake Land College in Mattoon are among five downstate community colleges receiving capital grant money from the state to build and equip new Manufacturing Training Academies.
The $6 million grant awarded to Parkland will go towards opening a training facility focusing on bio-manufacturing and metal fabrication. Lake Land College will use a $3 million grant to build an academy to train workers for jobs in automation and robotics.
Governor JB Pritzker said in a news release that the new training academies will help more Illinoisans learn in-demand skills and give manufacturers more reasons to keep and expand jobs in Illinois.
“This capital grant allows Lake Land College to accelerate the implementation of its strategic vision to expand workforce training from traditional manufacturing to intelligent, AI-driven systems,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said in a statement.
“Manufacturing is a critical component of our district’s economy, and this grant propels Lake Land’s manufacturing excellence to the next level, providing critical training for high school graduates and incumbent workers while supporting local manufacturers through the development of a highly skilled workforce.”
State grant funding will support the launch of Manufacturing Training Academies at three other Illinois colleges: Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Kaskaskia College in Centralia and Lewis & Clark College in Godfrey.
State-funded manufacturing training academies are already up and running at Richland Community College in Decatur and Heartland Community College in Normal.