Presidents and administrators from the 24 community colleges in Alabama came to Decatur Wednesday morning for a ribbon cutting to open the Alabama Community College System’s Innovation Center.

The former site of the Decatur City Schools will now serve the state by providing training to meet the rising workforce demands in Alabama.

“Half of this program is gonna be virtual online and that’s what we will be doing here at the hub or the Innovation Center. And then, out in the community, colleges across the state they’ll have the hands-on training that’s so important to prove that you understand the credential that you may be receiving from that particular community college or the community college system,” said State Sen. Arthur Orr.

An online education provides top quality courses that work with a student’s schedule at less than half of a four-year education.

The Innovation Center is expected to be fully operational by the upcoming semester in January.