INA — Rend Lake College is accepting construction bids until Aug. 31 for the new Southern Illinois Manufacturing Academy in Mt. Vernon.
It’s a milestone for the project, funded by a $5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). The SIMA will be located at the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon.
Construction is expected to begin in October. Chris Sink, a longtime professor of Industrial Electronics and Maintenance Technology at RLC, was tapped as SIMA Director. Sink said he is happy with the progress they’ve made so far with the architects and “all the great ideas from the team and interested parties.”
SIMA will be built on the southeast corner of the MarketPlace campus, covering 20,000 square feet. The building will include state-of-the-art training stations for welding, machining, pneumatics, electronics, wiring, power, and controls. In addition, there will be a robotics lab, a computer lab, and classrooms for lectures and presentations. The facility will offer students and workers a comprehensive education in technical fields and a chance to develop in-demand skills.
“One unique feature we’re going to have is an actual chocolate production facility,” said Sink. “This is great because it will allow students to see the production process from start to finish, as well as integrate multiples disciplines from culinary arts into manufacturing.”
He’ll be collaborating with RLC’s Culinary Arts program, led by Chef Jeff Fairbanks. The plan is for students to make chocolate from scratch that will be fed into the machine and come out as chocolate bars, allowing them to participate in the production process from start to finish. This integration will provide students with a unique, cross-disciplinary approach to learning and expand their knowledge across different sectors.
The introduction of SIMA will also bring economic value to the MarketPlace and Southern Illinois as a whole. “The new facility will allow us, in one spot, to train people for these in-demand, well-paying jobs,” Sink said. “Whether that would be a student just coming into the industry, an incumbent worker looking to increase their skill set, or someone interested in changing careers.”
With a shortage of technical workers across the U.S., Sink said he is excited for the positive impact the facility will have on students, workers, and the region’s manufacturing partners. SIMA at RLC is a major step forward in Southern Illinois’ economy and technical education. The Academy’s resources will offer a range of training opportunities to students and workers and fill the crucial skills gap facing many industries.
Click here for an invitation for construction bids, issued by the RLC Board of Trustees.