Roundtable Attendees Get Sneak Peek at LCC’s New ITEC Building
While the Chamber’s Roundtable program takes place monthly at the Chamber Depot, the Roundtable + Tour is quarterly, adding an onsite tour of a local business or entity. Previous programs have included the Richardson athletic products manufacturing facility and the Eugene Airport expansion. The Chamber’s first Roundtable + Tour program of 2024, on April 23rd, centered around Lane Community College’s new Workforce Hub.
Attendees arrived at Building 4 on LCC’s main campus at 4:00pm, and the program began with a welcome from LCC President Dr. Stephanie Bulger; after which Shelley Tinkham, LCC’s VP of Academic and Student Affairs, facilitated a panel discussion of educators and executives including Justin Chin, Dean of Workforce Development; Grant Matthews, Associate VP for CTE & Workforce Development; Christopher Rehn, Senior Instructional Dean, Business, Tech, and Trades Division; Katie Gatlin, Alumni Relations & Annual Gifts Officer, and LCC Foundation, Cory Miner, Division Dean of Health Professions.
The panel shared how LCC’s workforce hub is is meeting growing demands for healthcare and trades professionals in Lane County with the construction of the Industrial & Trades Education Center (ITEC), a 55,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility on the east side of the main campus. The ITEC building will house instructional programs and services including apprenticeship training, construction technology, manufacturing technology, interdisciplinary fabrication, and aviation unmanned aircraft systems, and contain faculty and student advisory offices, as well as modern workspaces and laboratories for students.
“We rely on our amazing industry partners; this program is a testament to community.”
– Grant Matthews, Associate VP for CTE & Workforce Development, Lane Community College
Highlights from the Panel Discussion
Workforce challenges include a generalized, post-COVID hesitation to engage with higher education; but even a casual glance at metrics shows that post-high school training always pays off, benefitting both the individual and the community. As such, LCC is encouraging individuals to invest in themselves.
Brett Rowlett, LCC’s Executive Director of External Affairs, recognized the Springfield Chamber for supporting the 2020 bond measure that is helping fund the construction of the ITEC facility.
LCC is thankful to industry partners that allow students in nursing and other healthcare fields to do vital clinical work as part of their training, partners like PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend and McKenzie Willamette Medical Center, and other regional medical centers in the community. Additional investment from PeaceHealth has increased the size of the nursing cohort at Lane and build the program.
The demand for healthcare professionals represents a well-known employment gap, and LCC is increasing efforts to inform the public that these positions offer long-term benefits, growth track, and upskilling, and represent a more versatile career opportunities than other fields.
Exacerbating the heathcare employment gap, the average medical assistant in Oregon won’t remain the state – the day that health care students graduate, they will literally have hundreds of job offers across the country. LCC programs are interested in not only training health care professionals, but building conditions to keep skilled workers in the region.
To better connect students with business job opportunities, Lane has invested in a new platform, Handshake, an online career-building platform offering networking and workforce opportunities – a centralized location for local businesses to find recent graduates. Handshake will allow students and graduates to develop their careers and connect with employers and peers. For more information on Handshake, please visit https://www.lanecc.edu/get-support/career-support/handshake
LCC is making a concerted DEI effort with their expanded programs, widening the breadth of community partnerships to foster a more diverse student body. Retention rates and pass rates are higher when there is a more diverse cross-section of students.
ITEC Building Tour
After the Q&A and panel discussion, Grant Matthews, along with volunteer guides from local contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis, provided attendees with an inside look at the 55,000-square-foot ITEC building. The impressive facility is a testament to education and industry coming together to support community growth through partnerships and initiatives.
Attendees were able to view two floors that are still in the initial stages of construction, modern and naturally-lighted spaces that will be flexible to adapt to emerging technologies and equipment to support local economic growth. LCC is actively seeking input from local industries to see how these spaces can best be utilized as training spaces. Providing even more flexibility, the college’s intention is for industry partners to be able to use certain spaces for their own workforce training needs, providing invaluable and collaborative on-site training opportunities for students.
Thank you to LCC’s President Dr. Stephanie Bulger, LCC’s VP of Academic Affairs Shelley Tinkham, and the insightful panel of educators and administrators that shared how LCC’s workforce hub is is meeting growing demands for healthcare and trades professionals in Lane County.
Thank you to LCC’s Associate Vice President for CTE & Workforce Development, Grant Matthews, as well as crews from Lease Crutcher Lewis, for taking the extra time to safely provide attendees with the site tour. The ITEC building is scheduled for occupancy as early as November of this year.
