Rend Lake College has been awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration to construct a new manufacturing academy. The project is funded under EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program.
Rend Lake College Vice President of Instruction and Student Affairs Lori Ragland says the Southern Illinois Manufacturing Academy (SIMA) will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing training center located at the RLC Market Place in Mt. Vernon. Rend Lake College along with Kaskaskia College and Southeastern Illinois College will collaborate on outreach, enrollment, training, employer engagement, and job placement throughout its Southern Illinois footprint.
The grant will expand manufacturing workforce training opportunities in a region that the declining use of coal has impacted. The EDA investment will be matched with $1.2 million in local funds to support the programming necessary to address current skill gaps and the retirement-induced staffing crisis.
SIMA will include a working manufacturing environment where participants will demonstrate competencies based on industry criteria. The training will be a direct correlation to the feedback received from employers in the manufacturing sector.
