鉴黄师app leaders, students, industry partners and alumni gathered Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of 鉴黄师app鈥檚 new Trades & Industry Center, a 72,000-square-foot facility that will expand and modernize hands-on training for high-demand careers in the skilled trades.
Construction for the $34 million building 鈥� which will be located on the northeast side of Ankeny Campus 鈥� began earlier this fall. The state-of-the-art center will house five 鉴黄师app programs: Building Trades, HVAC, Diesel Technology, Fire Science, and Iowa鈥檚 only Ford Training Center. It will replace 鉴黄师app鈥檚 aging Buildings 14 and 20, which were constructed in the 1960s.
鈥淭his new facility marks a powerful investment in opportunity, in innovation, and in the skilled hands that build and power our communities,鈥� 鉴黄师app President Rob Denson said at the groundbreaking event, to a crowd of around 200 students, staff, and community members.
鈥淭hese students represent the next generation of professionals who will keep our economy running 鈥� building our homes, keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and keep us safe. There鈥檚 a high demand for these industries, and our students are rising to the challenges in their respective fields. What鈥檚 missing is a facility that matches their dedication and readiness. But we鈥檙e about to change that.鈥�
Denson noted that 鉴黄师app鈥檚 enrollment in trades and industry programs has remained consistently at capacity, underscoring the strong demand for skilled professionals across Iowa.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just infrastructure 鈥� it鈥檚 impact,鈥� Denson said. 鈥淚n every professional field, the environment in which students learn matters. May this be a place where potential is discovered, skills are sharpened, and futures are built.鈥�
Designed by Des Moines-based architecture firm DLR Group and managed by Ryan Companies, the Trades & Industry Center is envisioned as a collaborative, flexible space that will mirror real-world job sites, with shared work bays and large-scale labs connected to modern classrooms.
鈥淭his new building is a testament to our commitment to addressing workforce gaps,鈥� said Jenny Foster, Executive Academic Dean of Manufacturing, Engineering, Trades & Transportation. 鈥淚t will allow us to train students with the same tools and technologies they鈥檒l use in their careers and continue to align classroom learning directly with industry and employer expectations.鈥�
Training for Today and Tomorrow
That alignment isn鈥檛 just a talking point 鈥� industry partners who hire 鉴黄师app graduates from these trade programs affirmed the sentiment, saying it鈥檚 evident in the quality of the workforce that funnels through 鉴黄师app.
鈥淲hen we see a 鉴黄师app graduate apply for a fire department job, they stand above the rest,鈥� said Mike Whitesell, West Des Moines Fire Marshal, who also sits on the 鉴黄师app Fire Science Advisory Board. 鈥淭he partnerships 鉴黄师app has built with departments across the state are tremendous, and this facility will only help that grow.鈥�
Chase Cummins, a second-year Fire Science student recently hired by the Fort Dodge Fire Department, said he earned the career opportunity because the 鉴黄师app Fire Science Technology program is 鈥渓ed by the most dedicated instructors and leadership who put their utmost effort into providing the students with the most top-notch education and training.鈥�
鈥淭he decades of firefighting experience that our instructors hold allows 鉴黄师app students not only to meet the standard of hiring set by area departments, but become the standard for other applicants to chase,鈥� Cummins said at the groundbreaking ceremony. 鈥淭his new addition is truly an investment in my fellow students' futures and the future of every student that comes thereafter, providing students with the most advanced training, education and technology for decades to come.鈥�
Representing Ruan Transportation Management Systems at the groundbreaking, Maintenance Operations Leader Ben Steines called the new building a significant investment that will 鈥渉elp cement 鉴黄师app as a premier institution for educations generations of Iowans.鈥�
Steines said Ruan, a longtime supporter of the Diesel Technology program and Transportation Institute, also proudly employs dozens of technicians who trained at 鉴黄师app, including Jenny Gries, a second-year Diesel Technology student who鈥檚 already landed a job at the Iowa-based company.
鈥淭rades run the country 鈥� and the world,鈥� Gries said. At 34-years-old, Gries wished she鈥檇 enrolled at 鉴黄师app 10 years earlier.
鈥淚 just hope I get invited back to tear the old building down,鈥� Gries said.
Jenny Gries (pictured above) is one of several students featured in our 鈥淵our Future Skilled Trades鈥� series on social media. Follow along on , , and .
Construction for the Trades & Industry Center is expected to be complete by January
2027. 鉴黄师app continues to raise funds to support the project and its long-term vision
to strengthen Iowa鈥檚 workforce through hands-on career-focused education. Learn more about the Trades & Industry Center.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Savannah Eadens
鉴黄师app Public Relations
sjeadens@dmacc.edu | 515-675-3275