Snead State Community College celebrated the grand opening of their Workforce and Career Institute on Tuesday.
The following programs in the workforce and career institute involve Industrial Systems Technology, Welding, HVAC/R and Machine Tool Technology. The Industrial Systems Technology program involves instruction in several areas of industrial maintenance that involves robot maintenance, industrial safety, and basic electricity. The welding program will teach students the skill of technical knowledge and skills to join and cut metal surfaces. The HVAC/R program will teach students about heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. The Machine Tool Technology program will teach students methods of how to handle or machining metal or other rigid materials by cutting, grinding, or shearing other forms of deformations.
With a committee of 47 people, including College employees and community members, SSCC President Dr. Joe Whitmore described the process that led the College to identify its direction for increasing its presence in career technical education. This led to focus on offering skills training in Industrial Systems Technology, HVAC/R, Machine Tool Technology, and Welding Technology.
“This building was constructed by a great group of guys. PNC Construction came in and there were a lot of issues in the beginning with the foundation. There were some draining issues that had to be taken care of, and nature thought it would be good to rain every day, so we got off to a slow start. I thank everyone for being here, as this is the end of a time that we have been working on a long time. This started in 2020 when our chancellor gave me the opportunity to become the acting president of Snead State and he and I had this conversation about the first day of my presidency where I was asked to go to a meeting that was held at Gadsden State. This was in 2020, so there were still masks, and we didn’t know what was going on with Covid. The purpose of that meeting was a vision that the chancellor had. It was called Aspire 2030.
“The chancellor could’ve taken the easy way out and taken this money and divided it up based on enrollment or based on the formula we had been using. But he wanted us to put more thought into it. Each of the presidents were assigned to gather a team of people to come together and look at the needs of individual colleges and to prioritize things with not only the help of our college staff, but also community involvement. We had 47 people on our Aspire committee, that was made up of K-12 partners, business and industry, internal. We spent about that first year thinking about what do we need and how do we fulfill the vision for Snead State and Marshall County. Everything pointed to increasing our presence in our career tech education,” Whitmore said.
Whitmore was able to complete the $35 million facility without taking on any additional debt.
“I stood on this site with former Senator Clay Scofield, and we envisioned this building and talked about the impact it would have. We talked about the opportunities we could give people. We procured funding from the Governor’s office and the System office and supplemental funding from the Alabama Legislature. Congressman Robert Aderholt provided critical Federal funding for the purchase of essential equipment for the facility. In addition, the Marshall County Board of Education provided the land for the facility. It took a lot of teamwork, but if you don’t remember anything else I say today, you can remember this. We are in a $35 million facility that is going to make a difference in this county, and we did it without having to take on any debt,” said Whitmore.
Kay Ivey, the Governor of Alabama, was supposed to attend the opening ceremony, but was unable due to personal reasons. Ivey sent a pre-recorded message about her excitement for the opening of the Workforce and Career Institute.
“We are here to finish what we started 22 months ago. Today, we’re finally inaugurating this beautiful new 50,000 square foot career learning institute. This state-of-the-art facility is the result of remarkable teamwork. The official career and workforce institute opening is arriving right on time. Before a new high-tech industry builds a factory in Alabama, the first question they ask is, do you have the capability to train our workers? Well, thanks to all of you who contributed to making this important project a reality, we can say yes! Folks, I am excited about the impact that this institute will have on Marshall County. May God continue to bless each of you and the great state of Alabama,” said Ivey.
Senator Wes Kitchens believes that the opening of the new institute will allow Snead State to continue leading Alabama in workforce training and workforce development.
“Thank you, Dr. Whitmore, and everyone who is here today. On behalf of the Marshall County legislature, we just want to thank you. We want to thank you for the partnerships, the dedication and for making this facility possible. I want to thank Chancellor Baker for his vision. You have been a great partner, and we can’t say thank you enough. Dr. Whitmore, what you have done for Snead State, you have taken this college to the next level. I think rather you are on campus, or you are here, it is evident that the things that you have done have moved this college forward. We are very thankful for you. What is unique about this facility is how we can move forward in the future. We are blooming here in Marshall County and in north Alabama. We have jobs coming in left and right. We are really excited to see what happens for all of the advancements that we will be able to take part in throughout north Alabama. There is no doubt in my mind that with the opening of this facility, Snead State is going to continue leading Alabama in workforce development and workforce training not only for the jobs of today, but for jobs of the future,” Kitchens said.
Dus Rogers, the ACCS Board of Trustees Chair, remains focused on the core mission of adult education and remaining focused on student success.
“Thank you, President Whitmore. I am going to tell you how we open up our Board of Trustees meeting when we make a statement. We remain laser-focused on student success and remain true to our core mission of adult education, workforce development, and academic transfer education. Snead State’s workforce development efforts in Marshall County just got a lot more focused. The skills that are going to be taught here and the instructors who work here are in the life-changing business. I want to commend President Whitmore, as these projects don’t just happen,” Rogers said.
Jimmy Baker, the ACCS Chancellor, believes the institute can provide opportunities for students to become more skilled and knowledgeable.
“I somehow became chancellor, but I was unsure if that was something I wanted to do. About a year after working as the chancellor, I made a trip to one of our schools. I walked through the building and walked into the classroom and the instructor was teaching. I stood at the front of the classroom, and I looked to the ceiling tiles to see maybe half of them in. There were six buckets sitting on the floor, as it caught the rain that went through the ceiling. I left mad. I asked the instructor if this had been reported to the president and she replied, ‘to the last three presidents.’ I stayed mad and I am still mad to the people who think the students of Alabama deserve that kind of environment. I have a board who believes in that same way. We have been very fortunate to have a legislative board who understands the need to move forward. We’re in the business of providing a vehicle that makes life better for people. Talking about it solves nothing. It raises the issue of the need, but what is happening here today brings about change by providing opportunities so people can become skilled and knowledgeable about how to make things happen and come together to make a better community,” Baker said.
Whitmore finished the ceremony with a positive statement about the future impact that the workforce and career institute will make on the Snead State students.
“Our goal at Snead State is to impact lives. That’s what this building is designed for. That’s the dream we have. We want to impact lives, and for everyone we impact, we’re not just helping that person, and their family make a difference. We’re giving them pride in what they do and giving them the opportunity to succeed. We’re impacting future generations, and that starts with everybody in this room.”