SMYRNA (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents and Nissan have broken ground for a new $35 million training center in Smyrna.

The board is building the 150,000-square-foot-plus center near Nissan's Smyrna Vehicle plant.

The facility will operate as an extension of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology campus at Murfreesboro, but the TCAT-Murfreesboro and Nissan will occupy it jointly.

The center was included in the fiscal year 2014 budget as part of Gov. Bill Haslam's Drive to 55 initiative to increase the percentage of Tennesseans with a college degree or certificate to 55 percent by the year 2025.

The center is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

It will offer a variety of training programs, including automotive technology, mechatronics, welding and other programs related to advanced manufacturing.