Our History

The Wilson Talent Center (WTC), formerly known as the Capital Area Career Center, opened its doors in the fall of 1972 offering Career & Technical Education classes to high school juniors and seniors in the Ingham Intermediate School District  area.  Based on industry need and economic trends, program offerings have changed over the years. When the center opened, the goal was to train students for entering a career, whether that was in automotive technology, precision machining, or business to name a few. Today, nearly 80 percent of our students go on to further their education after high school with either a bachelor or associate degree, apprenticeships or additional training.

Students have the opportunity to earn high school credit, college credit and both state and national certifications during their time at WTC. For the 2023-24 school year, we will be offering an Early College opportunity for students in eight of our programs through the Capital Regional Technical Early College. This allows students in these programs the opportunity to stay for a "thirteenth" year and earn free direct college credit or additional industry certifications. We hope to add additional programs in the future.

On August 30, 2017, the former Capital Area Career Center was renamed the Wilson Talent Center in honor of longtime Ingham ISD Board Member, Rudolph (Rudy) Wilson. Wilson was the first African American salaried worker at Oldsmobile, served on numerous boards such as the NAACP, The National Caucus on Black Aging and the Westside Neighborhood Association to name a few. He was a graduate of Lansing Public Schools and Michigan State University. Wilson believed in the mission of our Career and Technical Education programs and regularly attended events at the former CACC. Wilson passed away in August of 2015 and his family was delighted that Ingham ISD chose to honor his contributions by renaming the center after him. During the 2022-23 school year, the Wilson Talent Center celebrated its 50th anniversary of offering Career & Technical Education programs.