Southeast Community College is planning a pair of new facilities dedicated to training students to enter careers in science and technology.
A proposed $42.7 million tower focused on technology education will also serve as a hub for businesses that want to “re-skill or up-skill” their existing workforce, the college said.
The project will be paid for through a combination of SCC’s capital improvement fund, facility use fees and private donations, according to Bev Cummins, director of the Lincoln campus.
SCC already has about $8 million in funds pledged to the project, including $5 million from Sandhills Global of Lincoln.
The Sandhills Global Technology Center is expected to help SCC address the state’s growing workforce needs in science, technology, engineering and math-related fields, which are expected to grow by 11% between 2018 and 2028, according to the Nebraska Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Non-STEM fields, meanwhile, are anticipated to grow by 5% across the state over the same period.
In the Lincoln area, the growth in STEM careers is projected to outpace the state, increasing by 11.6% compared with 5.9% for non-STEM fields, the Bureau of Labor report states.
With demand surging for a trained workforce, SCC said its teaching spaces for science and technology classes “no longer meet the pedagogical needs” of instructors and students.
In general, most of the rooms are too small for the class sizes desired by the institution,” a report submitted to the SCC board states. “Instructional equipment and technology required is also insufficient. Many spaces cannot support the anticipated and necessary growth in science and technology offerings.”
For example, science labs within the main building at 8800 O St. were last overhauled in the late 1990s, while the computer information technology program is housed in a 35-year-old space without room for students to train in cybersecurity, network management or computer support.
