State Fair Community College plans to open a new workforce development facility on campus that will expand the school’s capacity for training workers in skilled industrial careers.
An announcement was made Tuesday at State Fair in Sedalia that the school will receive $500,000 from a Community Development Block Grant to be used to build a facility on campus that will benefit workforce development, according to information from Gov. Mike Parson’s office.
Parson also spoke at the event.
A $250,000 Neighborhood Assistance Program grant and donations to match it from the Olen Howard Charitable Foundation will add to helping build a new training facility that will let State Fair increase the number of workers trained each year from 109 to 236; increase the capacity of existing welding and precision machining programs; and implement or expand apprenticeship programs and non-credit training offerings.
The cost for the facility is estimated to be more than $4.9 million. The grants and matching donations announced add up to $1 million, and other project funding is anticipated to come from State Fair’s foundation, as well as cash reserves obligated by the Board of Trustees.
Apprenticeships and funding for workforce training have been some of Parson’s focus in the past month. The new facility at State Fair will also allow for a new pre-apprenticeship program to help unskilled workers in the Sedalia and Pettis County area enter apprenticeship programs.