Gov. John Bel Edwards, alongside both state and local dignitaries, celebrated the opening of Sowela Technical Community College’s greatly anticipated Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Center.

This 28,000 square-foot center will serve as an educational hub for students seeking training and career opportunities in the culinary, hospitality and gaming industries, which have proven to be vitally important for Southwest Louisiana’s economic health.

“Sowela’s new Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Center will provide the means to supply a skilled and qualified workforce for the expanding culinary, gaming and hospitality industry in Southwest Louisiana,” said Neil Aspinwall, Sowela chancellor. “Southwest Louisiana is well known for the petro-chemical industry, but in the last several years, the gaming and hospitality industry has greatly expanded… along with the present culinary workforce needs, the industry is desperate for additional workers.”

The success of this industry in the area has led to a high demand for jobs. According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the number of jobs in this industry will increase by 14.9% by 2026.

“Sowela is in the workforce development business, so this new training facility is a direct response to those needs, so we will continue to work with our industry partners and do what we do best – design, develop and implement the training programs that will produce the workforce needed,” he said.

This facility will offer great opportunities for the local casinos – Golden Nugget, L’Auberge Casino Resort and Horseshoe Casino and Hotel – and fine-dining restaurants, to train current and future employees, said Judge Gene Thibodeaux, Louisiana Community & Technical College System Facilities Corporation. “We have an abundance of casinos and hotels and restaurants for which this particular facility will be particularly suited for.”

According to Ronnie Johns, chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the gaming industry brings in approximately $1 billion into Louisiana’s general fund annually, which “surpasses any other private industry sector in the state in direct tax dollars.”

The Lake Charles area leads the state in gaming, producing $15 to $20 million in revenue on a monthly basis. Southwest Louisiana has over 5,000 direct employees in the gaming industry, resulting in almost $200 million a year in payroll.

An increased focus on hospitality and gaming is just what Southwest Louisiana needs during this period of disaster recovery. “It brings a much needed boost to Southwest Louisiana as it continues to recover from hurricanes Laura and Delta,” said Edwards. “I am continuously inspired by the hard working folks who live and work here, who’ve committed themselves to rebuilding this community and making it stronger than ever before.”

“This facility is so needed for our area,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. “We are bouncing back in spades. I’m very confident, very optimistic, about the future of this community.”

The opening of Sowela’s Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Center aligns with Edward’s master plan for education, which aims to arm 60% of Louisiana’s working age adults with a high value credential or degree by 2030. “That’s how we are going to be successful.”

This is the first facility of its kind in Louisiana. “This is the very first one, and it’s critically important because we have to train and prepare people to be workers,” said Edwards. “In this vital and growing service industry, it helps further establish Lake Charles as a hub for careers and hospitality.”

Each area in the building is optimized for immersive training, featuring: three classrooms, a dealer school, a serving kitchen lab – which will be used for service in the Landing Main Dining Room and Chancellor’s Dining Room – a baking and pastries lab, a hot foods lab, two hotel simulation rooms and a grand lobby, which will also be used for hospitality training.

All facilities feature top-of-the line equipment for optimum training.

The project was primarily funded through Act 360 – a statewide facilities initiative that aims to increase training and opportunities in Louisiana Community and Technical College facilities.

Sowela was granted $9 million in ACT 360 funding with a 12% match of $1,227,272, making the total cost of the project approximately $10.8 million.