DETROIT (WWJ) -- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday an upcoming project that will bring a training center for skilled trades to the city's northwest side within two years.
Duggan, along with Statewide Michigan Carpenters and Millwrights Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund, announced plans to build a new 120,000-square foot, state-of-the-art training center on seven acres of city-owned land near Oakman Boulevard.
The center, which will cost $30-million, is aimed to consolidate a number of administrative and training operations currently spread across metro Detroit locations, including Warren, Ferndale, Livonia and at the Renaissance Center in Detroit.
Designed to train upwards of 1,500 students annually, the center can't get up and operational soon enough because the city needs skilled employees fast, Duggan said.
"I'm concerned about it. We're seeing construction prices go up and it won't stop the bridge and it won't stop the Hudson's building, but it might stop some smaller apartment building," Duggan said.
The project is expected to break ground in 2020 and be operational by mid-2021.
Duggan says the new facility will be key because there are tons of projects -- both underway and yet announced -- that need workers. It's the smaller projects that are in real need, he said.
"You start to think about the Chrysler project, the Hudson's project, the Monroe project, the Gordie Howe Bridge and we've got some more we haven't even announced yet, plus Ford and the train station," he said. "You're going to have a lot of folks that need to go to work. We're going to have enough work for the next 10-15 years. We need to be training Detroiters to be able to do it."
When completed, the new facility will have classrooms and training areas for hands-on experience and real-world simulations, using methods and tools that include some of the most advanced in the construction industry. The new center will also include space to host community events, according to a press release.
Officials say the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, which is the state's largest skilled trades union, will ensure that 25 percent of all incoming first-year carpenter apprentices are Detroit residents.
