Parkland College Announces Groundbreaking for New AGCO Training Center
Groundbreaking Set for New AGCO Training Center, October 19
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Parkland College will break ground on its new $6 million AGCO Training Center in a ceremony set for Thursday, October 19, at 10 a.m. at the construction site between the Parkhill Applied Technology Center (ATC) and the Tony Noel Agricultural Technology Applications Center.
A reception will follow the groundbreaking in the Parkhill ATC. AGCO corporate representatives are expected to join Parkland College trustees, administrators, and other invited guests for this event.
In September, Parkland's Board of Trustees approved the bid from Petry-Kuhne Co. of Champaign to construct the center, which will have three classrooms, faculty offices, and 18,000 square feet of equipment laboratory space. Construction on the new center is supported by a $5 million donation from AGCO Corporation, a global agricultural machinery and precision agriculture technology company.
The facility will be the site for Parkland College's new AGCO Service Technician associate's degree program, launched this fall. The cooperative two-year, student-technician-education program has been designed to help meet the demand for skilled technicians who can service AGCO's popular Fendt® and Massey Ferguson® brands of agricultural equipment. Local AGCO dealers will work in partnership with Parkland College to conduct training activities. The program is accepting students sponsored by AGCO dealers and executes a work-based learning model that rotates students between classwork and fieldwork.
Dr. Pamela Lau, Parkland College's president, said the new facility will offer students training in a high-demand career that promises a solid foundation for continued employment and advancement in the agricultural equipment industry.
"Parkland College is recognized as a leader among peers in precision agriculture education and a responsive organization to the needs of our local and regional employers," she said. "We are excited to break ground on this new facility thanks to the generous gift from AGCO leadership. Together, we are expanding the agricultural workforce pipeline."
To learn more about the AGCO Service Technician program, visit parkland.edu/AGCO.