DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Dallas College has opened a 30,000 square foot technical training center in southern Dallas. Lancaster Career and Technical Innovation Center was built in partnership with Emmitt Smith's E Smith Communities as a mixed-use hub.
"That will provide an opportunity within South Dallas to connect people who are looking for skills to get them more competitive in the workforce," says Dallas College Executive Vice Chancellor Justin Lonon. "It really just does fit in with our overall mission at Dallas College to connect folks and help put them on a path to prosperity."
Lonon says Dallas College has worked to expand offerings to include associate's degrees, soft skills training and trade certificates. He says the center will also offer financial literacy courses "in an effort to bring long-term viability to southern Dallas County."
"Not everybody has to have a degree, but they've got to have some skills past high school to be competitive in the marketplace," he says. "We're excited that, here in this center, we'll be able to provide some of those job training skills. A lot of those will be in the construction area, which we know is a market that is booming right now. The construction industry is looking for folks within those roles."
Lonon says Dallas College will also launch a "mobile training lab" to move around the county to offer high school equivalency classes and training for trades like construction. He says the mobile lab and career and technical center aim to give people a path to escape poverty that may have been ongoing in a family for generations.
"That is absolutely part of our mission at Dallas College," he says. "We know it takes one in the family to say, 'I've got this skill now. I've got this certification, and I'm increasing the wages of our family.' And then we see brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles and others who see that path. It really can change a community."
Lonon says the career and technical center can also benefit the region's economy by training a generation of people to work in trades where some industries are struggling with a shortage of skilled workers now.
"I think all of North Texas learned back in February the importance of having someone come out when you've got busted pipes," he says. "We were all helpless until those folks got there to fix the busted pipes from the 'Great Freeze.'"
Former Mayor Mike Rawlings launched the "GrowSouth" initiative in 2012. Lonon says current Mayor Eric Johnson has continued to work to help people who live in the southern part of the city understand what opportunities would be available to them through education and workforce training.
"For some folks, it's just an unfamiliar path. It's overwhelming, and people have to work. They're juggling multiple jobs, and they don't really have time to go down a traditional educational path," Lonon says. "Initiatives like this provide a local option for folks who may not make it to one of the main campuses. They can go right down the road, get in a classroom there and learn some great skills."
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