Utah lawmakers,
along with industry, business and education leaders, received their first
glimpse of Salt Lake Community College’s new 121,000-square-foot WestpointeWorkforce Training & Education Center during a grand opening celebration
held on Wednesday.
Strategically
located in Salt Lake City’s industrial northwest quadrant, Westpointe is integral
to the Wasatch Front’s long-term economic vitality. The unique facility is
designed to provide education and training in key industries that are critical
to the region’s economic success, including welding, machining, diesel systems
technology, injection molding, composites manufacturing, commercial driving and
other high-demand fields. The center houses 8 classrooms, 34 lab spaces and a 3-acre
lot for commercial truck driving, along with more than 100 welding bays, a
large diesel maintenance facility and an injection molding lab.
Westpointe also
allows SLCC to fulfill its mission as Salt Lake County’s primary post-secondary
provider of workforce education and will serve a significant portion of SLCC’s
28,000 students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses each
year.
“At Westpointe,
students will receive hands-on education and experience in a number of
important trades. The campus will be a boon to students and to our region by
allowing us to maintain our economic prosperity through the development of a
top-notch workforce,” says Dr. Deneece Huftalin, president of SLCC.
