“”Western Technical College won the Talent Development award for their replacement housing program, created jointly with the City of La Crosse and the School District of La Crosse’s Central High School, at the annual Community and Economic Development Awards (CEDA) ceremony, held this month in Madison.
The CEDA Awards program was established by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) to recognize businesses, projects, and organizations that are making significant contributions to Wisconsin’s economy. The Talent Development award honors initiatives or programs that have driven successful talent development efforts to strengthen the Wisconsin workforce.
With a lack of affordable housing contributing to the area’s workforce shortage, the City of La Crosse entered into a unique partnership to build new housing in the community. Funded with Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership funds, the city partnered with Western Technical College and La Crosse Central High School to build new single-family homes and revitalize neighborhoods throughout the city.
The program has provided over 440 students with hands-on instruction in the construction trades, helping to build the area’s workforce. Since its inception, the unique partnership has resulted in 35 new homes and an additional $2.4 million in assessed value to the city.
“This partnership is a great opportunity for students to receive background, education, and hands-on experience in some of the many career options the construction industry has to offer while helping them to pursue their secondary education and career paths,” said ACE Academy leader and Central High School career and technical education teacher Nick Kalina. “Many of our students are continuing their education pursuing construction management, engineering, and other construction-related fields. We’ve also had students go immediately into the workforce and utilize the skills they’ve learned here and applied them to a career.”
The ACE Academy students work with local partnering construction contractors like Fowler and Hammer, Market and Johnson, JF Brennan, and vendors who help complete work in areas like HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems. These companies supply tools and scaffolding and include ACE Academy students in their job shadow programs.
Winners were unveiled in the following six categories: Business Retention and Expansion; Economic Development Initiative; Economic Driver; Public-Private Partnership; Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse; and Talent Attraction. CEDA Award sponsors include Alliant Energy; Delta Dental; Green Bay Packers; Insight Publications; J.H. Findorff & Son; Madison Gas & Electric; Wisconsin Public Service; and Xcel Energy.
“WEDA is excited to partner with the Wisconsin League of Municipalities, the Wisconsin Counties Association, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to present the CEDA Awards and celebrate the dedicated efforts of organizations and programs, such as Western Technical College’s housing replacement program, across the state that are advancing Wisconsin’s economy,” said WEDA executive director Brian Doudna.“”””[vc_single_image image=”15990″ img_size=”625×417″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large”]””
