Nebraska Community College Opens New Automotive Career Training Center
By Teresa Moss
September 25, 2026
Announcements
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen recently celebrated the opening of a new automotive career training center at Central Community College’s Hastings Campus.
“This is a significant investment in Nebraska’s future. It gives more students the opportunity to gain hands-on training, develop valuable skills, and build rewarding careers right here in our state,” Pillen stated in a social media post.
The new Gosper Building will house automotive technology and autobody programs, as announced in a post by Central Community College. The $20 million, 42,000 square-foot building replaces the college’s old facility, which had limitations for industry training methods, according to local news station NTV.
“The program has been growing over the last couple of years. Each year, we’ve seen higher enrollment, so we needed to expand our capacity for tools, equipment, and instruction,” remarked First Year Automotive Instructor Nick Kelley. “With cars becoming more technologically advanced, we require better training and more training. Many people still enjoy working on cars.”
The new building can accommodate 70 automotive students and 20 autobody students. The college offers certifications, diplomas, and associate degrees in automotive technology and auto body technology, among other programs.
“I could not be more proud of what community colleges do for workforce development and creating extraordinary careers, many of which can be developed in just eight weeks,” said Governor Pillen during the groundbreaking ceremony.
The facility features five new classrooms, a welding lab, and the capacity to work on electric vehicles and modern technology, as previously reported by NTV.
The U.S. economy is currently short approximately 140,000 skilled technicians each year, and the workforce gap is widening, with a projected need for over 73,000 new collision repair technicians by 2029, according to the TechForce Foundation’s “Technician Supply, Demand & Opportunity Report.”
With a demanding need across various sectors, employers will require 241,842 new technicians annually through 2029. Last year, technical schools and community colleges graduated only 101,743 students, highlighting a critical gap in skilled labor.
Image: Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen cutting the ribbon for the new automotive career training center at Central Community College’s Hastings Campus, courtesy of the governor’s office.
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