MT. VERNON (RLC NEWS) – Rend Lake College will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony as it celebrates the opening of the Southern Illinois Manufacturing Academy (SIMA) at the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon on Thursday, Nov. 21. at 4 p.m. A showcase of the many programs offered at the MarketPlace will follow the ceremony from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
SIMA is a state-of-the-art academy that covers 20,000 square feet and includes advanced training stations for welding, machining, pneumatics, electronics, wiring, power & controls, robotics lab, computer lab and classrooms for lectures and presentations.
In June 2022, Rend Lake College was awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) to construct SIMA. This academy is funded under EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program. Grant awards under this program help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs.
Lori Ragland, Executive Vice President of Rend Lake College, shares how the introduction of SIMA is a significant milestone for Southern Illinois, bringing both educational and economic value to the region.
“The new facility will play a crucial role in filling the skills gap and preparing workers for well-paying, in-demand jobs,” Ragland shares. “It will serve new and incumbent workers through hands-on application to validate learned skills and will include a working manufacturing environment where participants will demonstrate competencies based on industry criteria.”
One of the standout features of SIMA is the integration of a chocolate production facility, called Confection Connection. In collaboration with RLC’s Culinary Arts program, under the direction of Associate Professor and Chef Jeff Fairbanks, students will experience the entire production process from raw ingredients to finished products, providing a cross-disciplinary approach that blends culinary arts with manufacturing.
“Our goal at the SIMA Confection Connection is to enable students to understand the Manufacturing process from start to finish,” says Fairbanks. “We will include training on industrial safety, sanitation and hygiene, automated machinery, teamwork and manufacturing from purchasing to shipping.”
Fairbanks shares that there will be training on Food Safety and the Science of Chocolate from bean to bar. “We will focus on the quality control aspect in every step of the operation.”
For more information about the Southern Illinois Manufacturing Academy, please contact Christopher Sink, SIMA Director, at 618-437-5321 Ext. 1798, or visit rlc.edu/southern-illinois-manufacturing-academy.