NEW ORLEANS CAREER CENTER BREAKS GROUND ON INNOVATIVE NEW BUILDING AS DEMAND FOR PROGRAMS GROWS
NEW ORLEANS, La., June 14, 2021 – On Thursday, June 17, 2021, New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) will host a ceremonial groundbreaking at its new facility, an innovative career and technical education (CTE) campus located at 1331 Kerlerec St. in the Treme neighborhood. Once complete in late Fall 2022, the new NOCC will have capacity to train approximately 1,000 New Orleans public high school students and adults each year across six high-demand, high-wage career pathways. The building, which originally housed McDonogh 35 High School, is being completely revamped to comprise more than 143,000 square feet of purpose-built space. The $26.9 million LEED-certified facility is among the last to be completed under the Louisiana Department of Education Recovery School District and Orleans Parish School Board School Facilities Master Plan funded by FEMA and CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) after Hurricane Katrina.
“Since NOCC opened the doors in fall of 2018, our growth has been constrained by space. This year, our partner high schools are asking to place more students with us than ever before, because they know the quality and effectiveness of our programs,” said NOCC Founding Executive Director Claire Jecklin. “In the new building, we’ll be able to offer our rigorous, real- world career prep to even more high school students. We’ll be able to work with more employers to design rapid adult training programs and apprenticeships to meet workforce needs. More New Orleanians will have the knowledge, the networks, and the necessary certifications or college credits to secure good jobs that contribute to a thriving and inclusive local economy.”
“The goal of education is to expand the mind, spark curiosity, and prepare young people for the future – as productive, participative citizens,” said NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. “That is exactly what NOCC will be able to do more of in this new facility: expand young people’s understanding of locally viable careers, spark their curiosity about occupations they might never before have considered or understood, and prepare them to immediately compete in those fields on graduation.”With the new building, NOCC will expand to offer professional-level certifications and dual enrollment in college courses in six career pathways: Blue/Green Infrastructure, Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management, Engineering/Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare, Skilled Crafts/Trades, and Technology and Digital Media. (To date, NOCC has offered training programs in Culinary Arts & Hospitality, Healthcare, and Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing.)
In addition to the high school programs, the customized space will enable NOCC to develop and offer more adult career training programs aligned with New Orleans’ high-demand, high-wage industries. NOCC’s Adult Rapid Reskill Patient Care Technician program, launched in response to COVID-19 pandemic job losses in early 2020 and developed with Ochsner and LCMC Health, has successfully trained more than 120 adults who are offered permanent employment upon certification. Many of those trainees have since gone on to advanced education and training that will move them up the career ladder.
“As we emerge from COVID, the demand for skilled workers is soaring,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “By developing curricula to meet industry demand, the New Orleans Career Center ensures that students are ready for good jobs, and companies have the workers they need to grow. The New Orleans Career Center is a ‘win/win’ for Greater New Orleans.”
The construction project is being managed by JACOBS/CSRS and built by Broadmoor Construction. It was designed by SCNZ Architects.
Since the first high school class entered in 2018, more than 725 students and 100 adult trainees have been prepared to compete in careers and college immediately upon finishing NOCC programs. Nearly 500 have earned professional-level credentials and certifications, making them more desirable to employers. More than 85 have earned college credits through dual enrollment, shaving semesters off their college careers and thousands off their college tuition.
About New Orleans Career Center
The New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) connects Orleans Parish high school students and adults with clear pathways to high-demand, high-wage careers in healthcare, engineering and hospitality. Trainees develop the valuable hard and soft skills they need to succeed in professional environments through hands-on learning with industry and education experts. In 2018, NOCC welcomed its first class of 124 into three credential/certification pathways – healthcare, hospitality, and engineering/manufacturing. In 2020, NOCC launched an intensive Rapid Reskill program to train and credential adults 18 and older as certified Patient Care Technicians. To date, NOCC has trained more than 725 high school students and more than 100 adults. For more information visit www.nolacc.org.