Arizona expands aerospace and defense training with new $6.4 million facility

Up to 1,000 students a year will train for jobs in Arizona’s aerospace and defense industry at a new $6.4 million facility that opened Tuesday at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

The 14,000-square-foot Future48 facility, funded by the Arizona Commerce Authority, sits next to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on the college’s Williams campus.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and said the program helps build the state’s postsecondary pathways.

“This model highlights one of Arizona’s greatest strengths: the ability to bring education, industry and government partners together to build real pathways for opportunity,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs pointed to Arizona’s long ties to aerospace and defense, highlighting Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson to Luke Air Force Base in Glendale. As these industries grow, she said, so does the need for workers.

“Thousands of Arizonans will have access to the training that leads to family-sustaining jobs, stable careers and long-term economic mobility,” she said.

Industry partners shaped the aerospace training

The Future48 facility was built with the help of the college’s Business & Industry Advisory Leadership Team Advisory Board.

The board worked with 16 local industry partners and other postsecondary experts to make sure the equipment, and lessons match what students will see in their careers.

The facility is on the community college’s Williams campus, next to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

Valerie Jones, vice chancellor for workforce and economic development at Maricopa Community Colleges, called the facility the “next era of aviation.”

“Right here, students will gain hands-on training using industry standards and equipment and technology. They will earn credentials that lead straight to high-demand careers, and they will keep Arizona at the forefront of one of our most important industry sectors,” she said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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