GREENFIELD — For years, Hancock County students interested in career and technical education have had to leave the county to attend a career center or enroll in programs at other schools. A new state-of-the-art facility under construction in Greenfield aims to change that.
The Hancock County Career Center, known as HC3, will bring career and technical training under one roof for the first time in the county’s history. The center will be housed inside the Amplify Hancock Innovation Center, a 100,000-square-foot building that will also include training spaces for Ivy Tech and Hancock Health.
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For students like Mount Vernon junior Avery Koon, the new facility represents expanded opportunities for hands-on learning.
Koon is already training to become a nursing assistant while still in high school.
“I feel grateful because I could be certified like a nursing assistant at 16,” Koon said. “This is what we want to do in the future. It's really cool as a high schooler to come with your classmates to practice a career.”
Currently, Koon completes her training in a classroom at Mt. Vernon High School, but she said the new career center will offer upgraded resources.
“I'm excited because we'll have updated equipment, more beds to practice on and just a new environment,” she said.
The new career center will offer 12 total programs, including four new additions.
“The four new programs will be electrical, dental, auto service and auto collision,” said Stan Wilkison, director of the Hancock County Career Center.
They will also offer programs in welding, construction, health sciences, carpentry, HVAC, aviation, criminal justice and more.
Wilkison said the goal of the center is to better connect students and adults with local workforce opportunities.
“We're providing this training education and training so these adults or high school students again can go into the workforce or further ed, but ultimately find a job within Hancock County,” he said.
The project has been several years in the making and required coordination among all four Hancock County school districts.
Superintendents told WRTV the lack of a local career center has been a barrier for some families.
“We have been sending our kids out of the county to other career centers outside of our county,” said Dr. Jack Parker, superintendent of the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation.
“We just felt like that was a deterrent for some of our families to choose that option,” said Dr. Harold Olin, superintendent of Greenfield-Central Community Schools.
District leaders say interest in career and technical education is growing, and they expect enrollment to increase once the new facility opens.
“Being able to have a career center in our county is going to encourage many more kids to participate in this program,” Parker said.
“We think that we're going to have numbers closer to 450 students next year and that will only continue to grow once that facility opens,” Olin said.
As more students pursue trades and certifications instead of traditional college paths, district leaders told WRTV, the center will help remove barriers and address workforce shortages.
“We're just providing more access for students to gain more experience and a lot of our students will be going directly into the workforce,” Wilkison said.
Most of the programming is offered at no cost to students, helping eliminate barriers for many Hancock County students.
Koon said the early training also gives her a head start on future plans.
“I could be certified like a nursing assistant at 16,” she said. “When I do decide to go to college and be kind of ahead of the game.”
Hancock County commissioners pledged $40 million for the brand new facility.
The new facility is located on 300 North in Greenfield and is expected to open in time for students by early August 2026.
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Naja Woods is the In Your Community senior reporter for Lawrence/Hancock counties. She started her journalism career in 2019 after graduating from Knox College in Illinois. She’s always looking forward to making a difference by empowering the diverse communities throughout the area and helping share their unique perspectives through storytelling. Share your story ideas and important issues with Naja by emailing news@wrtv.com.
