WELLTON — On Wednesday, May 6, Arizona Western’s Entrepreneurial College cut the ribbon on the Future48 Workforce Accelerator in Wellton, with Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and state and local leaders in attendance.
“This new 5,600 square foot facility will deliver hands-on, industry-aligned training in high demand fields — including electrical technology, advanced manufacturing, broadband, fiber optics and solar installation,” Hobbs told the audience.
The facility is a new addition to AWC’s Wellton Learning Center, which primarily teaches manufacturing. It’s a $3.6 million investment from the Arizona Commerce Authority, and it’s the 6th workforce accelerator in the state, and it’s situated in east Yuma County, a region that’s been seeing more growth in recent years.
The facility will provide a wealth of hands-on learning opportunities for the next generation of Arizona’s tradespeople.
“This is not a traditional classroom. What you're going to see here: This is a flexible, high-impact workforce training space, which will be designed to evolve as industry evolves,” said Dr. Reetika Dhawan, incoming president of AWC. “It's not a standard classroom. Our vision is every student who will enter this space should leave with skills that lead directly to a job — not years later, not months later, but quickly and with purpose.”
As part of the Workforce Accelerator Network, the facility is meant to ensure students and workers train on the same equipment and technologies used by employers across the region. Per AWC, a standout feature of the building is its adaptability — high ceilings and large bi-fold doors create a space where equipment can be easily reconfigured as workforce demands change.
Hobbs says the network was created to “prepare Arizonans for the jobs of tomorrow, strengthen our talent pipeline and support the high-growth industries driving our state's economy forward.”
Program development at the facility is guided by direct input from industry partners, including TRAX International, the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, General Motors Desert Proving Ground, The Gowan Company, ALLO Fiber, D&H Electric, Sunray Electric and Yuma Electric.
The demand for labor in these fields is high, says Bruce Carroll, an electrical and solar technology professor at AWC Wellton. One of his students, who went on to become one of three technicians maintaining all of Amazon’s southwest region, affirmed this recently.
“Now he's working for Siemens. He called me the other day. He said, ‘We need people. We need people. Can we come talk to your classes to see if they'd be willing to move to Phoenix to start working for us?’” Carroll shared. “He's working at the microchip plant. He's got ten years’ worth of work.
“So they're always looking for people, and that's what we're here for: it’s to get them the opportunity to open these doors so they can advance their careers.”
The Wellton Workforce Accelerator offers new learning opportunities AWC students are very excited about.
“I think I'm probably going to touch every piece of equipment in this building, so it'll be pretty beneficial for me,” said Jose Martinez, who’s pursuing an associate’s in manufacturing and will likely double major in industrial technology.
Martinez shared that he previously earned a business degree from AWC about seven years ago.
“They didn't have these programs when I went back then. Otherwise, I would have definitely done the programs back then because this is something that's always interested me,” he said. “I've always been more of a hands-on person and I sort of just did the business degree just to have something, just to do something. So having these programs here is — I think it's a great thing for a lot of people like me.”
Enrique Gonzalez, a student working for Pilkington Construction Company, was also a returning college student. He told KAWC that he originally dropped out of university. He felt lost for a time until his dad suggested he try pursuing a trade. Now, he’s about to graduate with his associate’s in electrical technology, and he’s continuing to pursue various career-focused certificates at AWC.
“I want to just learn as much as I can because I'm just interested in the field,” he said. “It's just certificates in the electrical field, maybe even HVAC. I just like to know how to do things, you know? I can't really explain it. I just really want to go further than I can go — further and beyond.”
Standing inside the building, Gonzalez felt great pride. As a worker for Pilkington, he helped construct the facility.
“I've been here for a while, so seeing this place actually come to fruition and seeing all these people in here, it's pretty amazing,” he said. “I just wish I got to be a student when this stuff was around.”
His advice for students who might want to study in Wellton?
“Keep moving forward. It's going to be a struggle and it's going to be slow,” he said. “If you don't know what you're doing, just keep moving forward and go beyond. I mean, the reason I got in contact with people and I was able to get to this point was really just going whatever beyond what I thought I could do.”
As students like Gonzalez and Martinez pursue credentials in Wellton, Gov. Hobbs says the Workforce Accelerator’s marker for success will be the employment opportunities they find. In her view, employers investing in communities like Wellton is proof that Arizona has the workforce they need.
“That provides opportunity for folks here in the community. A lot of times kids grow up, they don't see economic opportunity and so they leave. And this gives them the opportunity to stay here, and it means more employers will continue to invest,” she said. “I don't think we're ever done, but having those opportunities here in Wellton, here in Yuma County and across the state are how we're going to say that what we're doing is working.”
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Reporting for this article is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
Note: Arizona Western College is KAWC's license holder.
