The concept of establishing a regional training center to provide rapid response to emerging workforce training needs at Satsop Development Park began to gel in December 2005. The idea is to establish a training center using the available 43,254 square foot technology building for classroom and administrative space. The rest of the Park represents space, equipment and facilities that simply arenʼt available anyplace else.

The Parkʼs location is convenient for the region. "If you draw concentric circles around the park in a 30-35 mile radius you are touching every major urban area in our five-county region; the draw is phenomenal," explained Michael Kennedy, Executive Director of the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council. Counties served include Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Thurston and Pacific.

The ball was kicked off this summer when Centralia College held Introduction to Power Generation classes at the Park. This is the first course in a two-year Energy Technology Associate Degree program offered by Centraliaʼs Center of Excellence for Energy Technology.

This initiative meets a two-fold emergent need: workers laid-off by the closure of the Weyerhaeuser pulp mill in Cosmopolis need jobs, and the energy industry has identified a need for up to 10,000 replacement workers as baby-boomers retire.

"Itʼs a facility we simply couldnʼt duplicate in any other kind of campus setting," said Barbara Hins-Turner, Executive Director of Centraliaʼs Center of Excellence.

In January, Grays Harbor College is taking the regional training center concept a step further by offering Commercial Truck Driving Classes. "There is a huge local, regional and national demand for truck drivers," said Mike Kelly, Dean for Workforce Education. Within one year, students can graduate from the program and apply for high-wage, high-demand jobs. The Parkʼs large grounds provide a place for students to have hands-on training.