The public will have its first chance to see the new AGCO Training Center at Parkland College in Champaign on Dec. 3 from 1-3 p.m.

The $6 million facility will be the site for Parkland College's new AGCO service technician associate's degree program, launched last fall. 

The cooperative two-year, student-technician-education program is designed to help meet the demand for skilled technicians who can service AGCO's popular Fendt and Massey Ferguson ag equipment.

Visitors will also get their first look at new equipment at the facility, located between the Parkhill Applied Technology Center (ATC) and the Tony Noel Agricultural Technology Applications Center on the campus's west side.

Local AGCO dealers will work with Parkland College on training activities at the new facility and at dealerships. Students will participate in a work-based learning model that rotates between classwork and fieldwork.

The new facility contains three classrooms, faculty offices and 18,000 square feet of equipment laboratory space. Construction on the new center is supported by a $5 million donation from AGCO Corporation, a global agricultural machinery and precision agriculture technology company.

Pamela Lau, Parkland College's president, said the new facility, at the college already known for its innovative precision agriculture program, will offer students training in a high-demand career that promises a solid foundation for continued employment and advancement in the agricultural equipment industry.

"We are excited for this new facility thanks to the generous gift from AGCO leadership. Together, we are expanding the agricultural workforce pipeline and building a better future," Lau said.

To learn more about the service technician program, visit parkland.edu/AGCO.