North Idaho College opens new automotive/manufacturing center

North Idaho College on Sept. 6 opened a new career and technical education facility in Rathdrum for manufacturing and automotive repair training.

The 110,960-square-foot center replaces a 40-year old, 40,000-square-foot tech center that did not meet the needs of the local auto and manufacturing sector, said Chris Martin, NIC’s vice president of finance and business affairs.

“We think it’s a game-changer,” Martin said. “We desperately want to keep our young people here and provide a quality of life for them. This, we think, is a key way to do that.”

The $20 million facility offers training in diesel, auto technology, collision repair, industrial mechanic/millwright, welding, machining and computer numeric control. Half the center will be dedicated to automotive and the other half to manufacturing, Martin said.

The center is named the Parker Career and Technical Education Facility to reflect the $1 million donation from the Parker Auto Group, Coeur d’Alene’s second-largest auto dealer with Parker Subaru, Parker Toyota, and, since Aug. 1, Parker Ford dealerships.

“Filling entry-level jobs is difficult,” Parker Auto owner Jim Parker said. “(The old tech center) was small and outdated. They had to turn away kids every year. This center will make kids employable right way with good paying jobs at the end of two years.”

Martin said the center is flexible to accommodate future changes in technology and also allow for expansion. Only 10 of the 40 acres that the tech center was built on have been developed.

Architects West of Coeur d’Alene designed the structure. Leone & Keeble Inc. of Spokane was the general contractor.