Work to start soon on Center for Industrial Technology
Construction will soon begin on a new Center for Industrial Technology (CIT) at the San Jacinto College North Campus, with a projected completion date of October 2016.
There is a critical need for the new, state-of-the-art facility to provide workforce training for businesses and industries in the rapidly growing North Channel area. The new Center for Industrial Technology will provide the necessary space, as well as up-to-date infrastructure so that San Jacinto College can keep pace as such workforce training needs continue to escalate.
The new Center for Industrial Technology will house the San Jacinto College diesel technology program. Photo credit: Rob Vanya, San Jacinto College marketing, public relations, and government affairs department.
Technical programs that will be housed in the 111,000-square-feet center include welding technology, pipefitting fabrication, diesel technology, international business and logistics, electrical technology, and heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR).
Other non-credit Continuing and Professional Development courses will also be housed at the new technology center, such as sheet metal, machining, and millwright training.
According to Dr. Kerry Keith Mix, North Campus dean of technology and business, up-to-date facilities and infrastructure at the new center will also enable the College to better provide what he calls cross-collaborative, or cross-discipline training.
“The Center for Industrial Technology will contain programs that reflect the commercial and industrial needs of the Houston area,” Dr. Mix commented. “The center will not influence our program-level outcomes, but will allow for flexibility in instructional design. The faculty can create integrated learning opportunities across disciplines. This will strengthen and enrich course content, while providing a foundation for cross-discipline teamwork.”
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration is always a high-demand career field in the region, and the new Center for Industrial Technology will house the San Jacinto College HVACR program. Photo credit: Rob Vanya, San Jacinto College marketing, public relations, and government affairs department.
The San Jacinto College North Campus opened in 1975, and many of the technical program training labs are advanced in age and are at a stage where it would be less expensive to build new facilities than to try to upgrade the older facilities. Also, existing technical program facilities are not large enough to keep pace with the rapidly growing student enrollment.
The demand in the Gulf Coast region is at an all-time high for training in craft trade professions, such as welding, pipefitting, and diesel technology. Little wonder, then, that student enrollment in many technical programs at the North Campus is also at an all-time high. For example, to meet the critical need for trained welders, the North Campus added 16 new welding training stations in the Spring 2014 semester, and 32 new training stations were added in the Fall 2014 term. The CIT will allow for another increase in the number of welding stations to a total of 120.
The strong demand for welders shows no sign of slowing down, according to Glen O’Mary, director of education for the Construction and Maintenance Education Foundation (CMEF), an organization that tracks skilled labor needs in the Gulf Coast region. “There has been a consistently growing demand for skilled welders for Houston area industries,” he commented. “Rig welders, especially, are being sought after in an expanding market. CMEF Training Contributor Partners hire new welders on a regular basis.” O’Mary said several large companies are especially in need of welders, including Turner Industries, Jacobs, and Force Corporation. “For welders, the current job market offers an increasing number of employment opportunities and a greater earning potential,” he said.
Through cross-discipline training, students will be able to train in many commercial and industrial careers, and learn how each link together on job sites. “The CIT provides a co-located instructional environment which can allow faculty to integrate learning experiences through common projects, shared resources, and the like,” Dr. Mix explained. “The facility will contain computer-mediated instructional areas to help students understand concepts through simulation. As more technical fields become software and electronic system dependent, we are teaching the necessary skills that will be required by the technicians of the future. Such a well-rounded training improves the marketability of students.”
– Rob Vanya