Joliet Junior College Gets $281,000 Grant to Build a 3D Printing Training Lab

Joliet Junior College has received a $281,000 Advanced Manufacturing Grant from the Illinois Community College Board to expand its MakerLab and launch a formal additive manufacturing certification program. The grant covers commercial-grade equipment, including engineering-grade 3D printers, powder bed fusion systems, and desktop injection molding machines.

The new program leads to an additive manufacturing technician certification recognized by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. That credential is designed to signal to employers in healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and general manufacturing that students have hands-on experience with the same class of equipment used in production environments.

JJC's MakerLab has been around for roughly a decade, running workshops, student camps, and community access sessions. The grant allows it to step up to industrial-grade equipment and tie the hands-on exposure to a certificate that carries weight with hiring managers. JJC Center for Continuing Education director Dave Lantz said the investment addresses a genuine workforce gap: companies are finding fewer applicants with the skills to operate modern additive manufacturing equipment.

MakerLab specialist Debra Daun said most organizations do not yet understand how broadly additive manufacturing is used. She pointed to dental labs, hospitals, manufacturers, and automotive suppliers as sectors where 3D printing has moved beyond prototyping into regular production.

JJC operates two main campuses in Joliet and Romeoville, with a third planned for Morris. The Advanced Manufacturing Grant is part of a wider Illinois push to scale workforce training in advanced manufacturing at community colleges. JJC is one of several institutions in the state to receive money this round, though the specific award for JJC at $281,000 is the largest individual grant referenced publicly so far.