Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Officials gathered early Friday morning to celebrate the continued construction of the upcoming Career Readiness Education and Skills Training (CREST) Center at Arkansas State University.
The center, which is a partnership between A-State, ASU-Newport, and Arkansas Northeastern College, will train students in steel technology, manufacturing, and industrial controls, with the first phase of the center focusing on steel, food, and artificial intelligence-enhanced manufacturing.
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“By connecting education and training to the needs of our regions and borders, we’re creating pathways for students and working adults to gain valuable skills, earn stackable credentials, and advance their careers,” recently named A-State chancellor Dr. Calvin White said in the ceremony. “We’re also equipping the industries that are driving our region.”
The first phase of the center is projected to be completed in spring 2027, with classes to start that fall. It will be 26,000 square feet and feature classrooms, a computer lab, a manufacturing lab space, as well as meeting and study areas.
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Students can earn technical certificates, certificates of proficiency, and associate’s degrees.
The center’s second phase will have space for bachelor’s degrees in food science, engineering technology, and technical studies, while the center’s third phase will focus on steel research led by the Center for Advanced Materials and Steel Manufacturing. The second phase, while contingent on funding, is expected to begin sometime in 2027.
Plans for the CREST Center were developed in 2025 after state research identified specific local industries projected to experience severe employee shortages over the next decade.
“There was a group of people that really saw we were missing something, and that is the building that we are standing in,” Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said during the ceremony. “They need a gap. High school education’s not enough, a college education, for some, is a bridge too far. But through facilities like this, it gives children, young adults, a place to start to move themselves forward.”
The $17 million center is funded through a $7.5 million grant from the Arkansas Department of Commerce’s Higher Industry Readiness through Educational Development (HIRED) program, as well as from funding from Craighead County, Jonesboro Unlimited, and Hytrol Conveyor Co., among others.
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“The capacity of this partnership will change lives. It will impact the student who discovers a career they never imagined possible. The high school graduate, pre-equipped with knowledge and skills needed to step into the workforce, the adult worker who will gain the capacities needed to advance their profession,” ASU-Newport chancellor Ike Wheeler said in the ceremony. “For employers, CREST is a pipeline – they do not have to build a road.”
To learn more, visit CREST’s website, email crest@astate.edu, or contact the Delta Center for Economic Development at (870) 972-3000.
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