Sen. Belt Celebrates Opening of Southwestern Illinois College Manufacturing Training Academy

State Senator Christopher Belt joined Governor JB Pritzker at the ribbon cutting for the Southwestern Illinois College's (SWIC) Manufacturing Training Academy.
The SWIC Manufacturing Training Academy, first announced by Governor Pritzker in 2021, will offer training in industrial electricity, robotic and automated welding, precision machining concentrations, and EV technologies, among other programs. $7.5 million of the $15 million facility was funded by the State of Illinois through Rebuild Illinois.
The addition of this facility allows SWIC to double potential enrollment numbers, with goals set for 40% of students identifying as people of color and 25% identifying as women - including efforts to recruit and retain diverse faculty and staff. Alongside that, this academy will shape a new curriculum built for a new age of manufacturing, focused on sustainability and emerging industries. Heartland Community College in Normal also opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility this year, providing central Illinois with opportunities for training and education. Illinois was recently ranked #1 in the Midwest for workforce development infrastructure, in part thanks to initiatives like the manufacturing training academies.
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