Operational start for the first phase of the new WKO training campus
Start for the 'Center of Excellence'
The forward-looking training facility of the Styrian Economic Chamber offers state-of-the-art workshops and new training programs for a wide range of sectors. The first – and largest – phase is now fully occupied and has started operating officially.
The “Center of Excellence” is the largest project in the field of educational infrastructure in the history of the WKO in Styria and its objective is to prepare for the future with a perfect range of educational and training courses. It will enable most of the outdated WIFI workshops to be gradually replaced. The design of the center is the work of ATP architects engineers and was awarded first prize in an open, two-phase realization competition in 2017.
Following the occupation of the center and the organization of a series of test courses in the summer semester, the first phase has now started operating officially. This is a milestone in the field of professional training, as emphasized by representatives of the WKO and WIFI.
A project as an investment in the future of the Styrian economy
A total of 14,200 square meters of gross floor area were realized during the construction project, which has dominated the Körblergasse facility of the Styrian Economic Chamber for most of the past two years. As the new training hotspot in Graz, the “Center of Excellence” will provide the state-of-the-art infrastructure that is essential for offering urgently needed training courses. According to Josef Herk and Karl-Heinz Dernoscheg, the President and the Director of the WKO in Styria, the project also “enhances the whole of the north of Graz.”
Welding, electrical engineering and mechatronics, climate and energy technology, and building services are the first specialist areas to be taught in the “Center of Excellence.” These skills are all particularly essential if we are to meet the challenges of the energy transformation.
The second phase covering the areas of metalworking, automobile engineering, and gastronomy will follow in autumn 2025, after which the parking garage should be built.
