The Milwaukee TechForce Training Center opened Tuesday with an innovative ribbon cutting that involved multiple iPads.
The center opened in the former St. Francis of Assisi social center at 1916 N. 4th St., Milwaukee.
It has classrooms and teaching technology designed to get students into technology-focused programs at MATC, MPS, Employ Milwaukee and other partners.
"Employers are coming to us and saying we need a trained workforce," said Dr. Vicki Martin, president of MATC. "So that's why this particular initiative is so critical to this community."
Archbishop Jerome Listecki said the key to making the center work is collaboration. "It's not a magic wand," he said. "It's just hard work, effort, and collaboration on the part of those entities I talked about."
Ann Perry graduated from the Adult Learning Center and is about to attend MATC. She knows the challenges adults face as they try to go back to school, but she says with determination, anyone can do anything.
"You come here, they've got tutors coming from way up north and if they can do it, I feel it was for me to do too," she said.
She added, "It was important for me to be here so I could show other people if you dropped out of school and you're my age there is a place for you to come back to."
The TechForce Training Center is part of the White House's TechHire Initiative. The goal in Milwaukee is to place 150 people into technology jobs by 2017.
