Cambria: Partnering on Wis. Workforce Center

LE SUEUR, Minn. – Cambria is joining the effort to help launch a state-of-the-art regional workforce center in the Madison, Wis., area that will train the next generation of skilled trades workers.

The surfacing producer is working with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County (Wis.) and the Madison Area Builders Association to create the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center in Fitchburg, Wis. Other businesses and local schools are also partnering on the project to make the workforce center a reality.

The vision for the workforce center started after local developer John McKenzie, bought the site of the former Thermo Fisher Scientific Building and donated the building to the Boys & Girls Club. Work on the new facility is currently underway; the project is expected to be completed in the fall of next year, with a grand opening planned for the third quarter of 2023.

The initiative aims to raise $35 million to provide a strong structure, the state-of-the-art physical plant, and an endowed fund to create transformational change for future generations. The McKenzie Regional Workforce Center is part of a pilot program to empower America’s young people to build a career in skilled trades.

Once complete, the facility will educate and support kids, ages 11–24, across Dane County to pursue careers in professions such as HVAC technicians, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and more. Curriculum will also include entrepreneurial classes to show students how they can potentially build a business in the construction trades.

“The McKenzie Regional Workforce Center is a dream that started five years ago and because of partners like Cambria and others, this will be life changing for a lot of young people in this community,” said Michael Johnson, president/CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County. “This center is specifically tailored to create opportunities for young adults to access resources, programming, and support systems that will migrate achievement gaps, create economic opportunities, accelerate economic mobility, and generate transformational change for families in South Central Wisconsin.”

Cambria, like many U.S. manufacturers, is experiencing a strong need for skilled tradespeople. Earlier this year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were over 11 million vacant job openings in the country, including approximately 785,000 manufacturing job vacancies. Data from other sources project that the manufacturing industry alone will have 2.4 million unfilled skilled labor jobs by 2028.

On behalf of Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, Cambria was awarded the 2022 Hearts for Helping Community Impact Award in recognition of Cambria’s support in building a new pathway to success for the kids in the Dade county community.

“The McKenzie Regional Workforce Center aligns directly with our company’s core values and we’re proud to support it,” said Christina McCormick, Cambria’s director of philanthropy. “In addition to helping kids gain the skills they need to have meaningful careers, this center will help employers across the region recruit and hire qualified workers. It’s a win-win!”