LaBelle's Edison State Adds New Building

Introducing the Edison State College Center for Workforce and Innovation

 

LABELLE, FL. -- Edison State College, Hendry/Glades Center will soon open the Edison State College Center for Workforce and Innovation. The new center will be located in a recently acquired building adjacent to the college and will house several new career-related partnerships and services. Together, the programs offer "one stop" career-counseling, training, and educational opportunities for the Hendry and Glades communities.

 

Florida Works, a division of the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board, will open a Career Center to provide career service counseling for both Edison State students and community members. Counseling will be enhanced by the Goodwill Industries job-link program. 

 

Innovation partners are expected to move into the building this summer. The Hendry County Biofuels Research Center, funded by a federal grant from the US Department of Energy, will involve researchers from both the University of Florida and Edison State College.  The grant brings innovative biofuels research to Hendry County and enables Edison State College faculty to work with researchers to design an integrated biofuels curriculum for the college.

 

Also this summer, the Farmworker Jobs and Education (FJEP) will relocate to the ESC Center for Workforce and Innovation, assisting migrant and seasonal farm workers in educational opportunities. Vocational training is also in the works. Edison State is currently partnering with Lee County High-tech Central to bring vocational courses offering electricity certification and a Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN).  An open house to will be held on campus March 24 from 4:30 - 7 PM for potential students.

The Edison State College Center for Workforce and Innovation is located in the Cowboy Way Commercial Park at 921 Anvil Road, one block west of the campus entrance.  It is scheduled to open on April 1.

 

The new building is one of several the ESC Hendry/Glades Center will be opening in the coming months. The college has also acquired four new portable classrooms. The expansion adds a total of 9000 square feet of office and classrooms to the ESC Hendry/Glades Center.

 

Edison State College purchased the Labelle Community Christian School campus in 2009 and began offering classes in the fall of that year. Steady growth has led to the renovation of the original 28,000 square foot facility which consists of two large classroom buildings on 19 acres on the east side of Labelle.