Pima Community College, in response to the workforce needs of the community is realigning the curricula of all of its education sectors. The first sector to be developed into a center of excellence is the Applied Technology Department. This department includes the following programs: Automotive Technology, CAD/Revit, Welding, Building Construction Trades, Machine Tool, and Mechatronics. Swaim Associates was commissioned to develop a space needs program document to reflect the new and collaborative curriculum being developed for this department. The Swaim team sought the input of key stakeholders including the Faculty, Staff and Students in the program, Industry partners and Community partners. The goal of the realignment of this program was to create a more agile program that can respond to the workforce development needs of the community. To determine the needs of the community we conducted a visioning session with key industry members including the Aerospace industry, construction, mining, manufacturing, utilities, and automotive. This session helped inform the program from the standpoint of current trends in these industries so that the curriculum can be current, relevant and adaptable to change. A second visioning session was conducted with community partners including JTED, local high schools, Pima County One Stop, Pima County economic development and other key agencies. From this session the team gathered key information on how the current workforce can benefit from the new curriculum but also, how incoming students from local area schools can be better prepared to enter the program and workforce. The ultimate goal of this effort is to create a program document that will define the space needs for what will eventually be a new building complex for this Center of Excellence.
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