Jefferson Davis Community College’s Atmore campus will soon upgrade and expand its welding training program after a $150,000 grant was awarded to help improve and increase the capacity of the program to train more local workers in welding.

The grant was announced last week by Gov. Robert Bentley and the Delta Regional Authority. The awards, combined with local matches and investments, amount to $11.5 million for improvements and new jobs in the southern portion of the state.

For JDCC in Atmore, the college plans on converting a classroom building to make it suitable for teaching welding techniques.

JDCC Interim President Dr. Bill Blow said the grant will hopefully employ an additional faculty member to help meet the increasing student demand for welding instruction.

“The college appreciates the excellent assistance given to our faculty and staff by Dr. John Johnson and his staff at the Coastal Gateway Economic Development Alliance in developing the project grant proposal,” Blow said. “We also appreciate the role of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) and the Delta Regional Authority in securing this grant for JDCC.”

With the public investment included, the total project cost is $366,755.

Rep. Bradley Byrne said this project will help JDCC and the people in Escambia County.