Ribbon Cutting: South Louisiana Community College & Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office Welding Facility

Description

Join us in celebrating the grand opening of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office Welding Facility! Ribbon will be cut at 11:30am. Attendees are invited to stay after the ribbon cutting for Welding Graduation Ceremony!

Thanks to funding from the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections (LA DPS&C), South Louisiana Community College (SoLAcc) has constructed a new, state-of-the-art, 10-bay Welding Training Facility on the grounds of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office (LPSO) Public Safety Complex, located at 1825 W. Willow Street in Scott.

This permanent facility marks a significant milestone in SoLAcc’s longstanding partnership with LPSO, which began in 2017. Since then, the Welding Technology Program has graduated more than 70 incarcerated students, many of whom have successfully transitioned into high-paying welding careers upon their release.

Previously, SoLAcc supported the program by providing an 8-bay mobile welding training unit, which was on loan to LPSO. The new facility replaces the mobile unit and enhances training capacity, helping to better equip inmates with the skills and certifications needed for long-term career success in the welding industry.

“The generous grant received from LA DPS&C will help advance SoLAcc’s welding program at LPSO, allowing many more inmates to benefit from this life-changing opportunity for years to come,” said Dr. Andre Perez, Associate Vice Chancellor for External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at SoLAcc. “While the mobile welding unit served LPSO well, this new permanent facility will not only expand capacity at the Public Safety Complex, but it also positions the College to replicate and launch similar programs at other correctional facilities across SoLAcc's eight-parish service region.”

The new Welding Training Facility is expected to usher in a new era of advanced technical training for justice-involved individuals, reinforcing SoLAcc’s commitment to workforce development and second-chance opportunities.

If you have any additional questions, please email Info@OneAcadian.org.