HASTINGS, Neb. -- Central Community College celebrated the newly renovated Hamilton Building on the Hastings campus Thursday.

The $10 million facility now has an expanded welding program that aims to get more people trained into the Nebraska workforce. Central is able to double their class population for the program and have more up-to-date equipment.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts was among those in attendance celebrating the expansion Thursday. Ricketts said having more people trained in the technical field will help fill the high demand for those jobs as the state recovers from the pandemic.

Leaders of the program said the facility is moving away from old ways of working and thinking in the field and opening it up to more modern tools and procedures.