A new $65 million workforce development center has opened in New Haven, Connecticut, with the goal of bringing jobs and economic growth to the area. The center, founded by Erik Clemons, will provide training in various skills such as bioscience, culinary arts, phlebotomy, and construction.

Community Focus

The center is part of a larger redevelopment project, known as First HAVEN in Dixwell, which aims to establish a mixed-use development including retail and grocery space, apartments, a performing arts center, and a workforce development hub. The project is expected to bring over 100 jobs to the area and provide affordable housing.

The center’s programming goes beyond job training, with spaces dedicated to youth activities, such as a brightly colored studio for performing arts rehearsals and dance practices, and a computer lab equipped with new iMac desktops.

Economic Development

The project has been funded by a mix of private capital, public funding, loans, and federal grants. The center’s leaders say that the organization focuses on feasibility, tailoring its programs to fields where there is a clear demand for new workers.

More than 1,000 people have graduated from the center’s phlebotomy program, with many finding work at the nearby Yale New Haven Hospital. The center’s culinary graduates have started catering businesses and work in local restaurants, and its construction participants have gone on to lead their own projects and pursue their studies further after receiving scholarships.

Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.