VGCC receives Golden LEAF Grant for Manufacturing Alliance with school systems
The Golden LEAF Foundation has awarded a $460,000 grant to support a workforce training partnership involving Vance-Granville Community College and the four public school systems in the college’s service area. The Manufacturing Skills Training Alliance is led by VGCC and also includes the Career and Technical Education high school programs from Vance County Schools, Granville County Schools, Franklin County Schools and Warren County Schools. Alliance partners are seeking to prepare local students and workers for manufacturing-related careers in which they will operate, troubleshoot, and maintain modern industrial equipment. The Golden LEAF grant will provide the necessary funds for VGCC and each school system to purchase state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that training is relevant to the needs of local employers.
Using such equipment, students will receive training in electrical motor controls, fluid power, programmable logic controller (PLC) troubleshooting, electrical power systems, mechanical drive systems, industrial controls, and renewable energies. These skills have been identified as essential to area manufacturers. The N.C. Department of Commerce estimates that 300 new manufacturing-related jobs will be created by 2020 in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties. Meanwhile, retirements by local industrial employees will result in approximately 700 job openings, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections. Area manufacturing employers will be represented on the new Manufacturing Skills Training Alliance advisory committee. The employers will give ongoing input and guidance to the educational partners, and will offer work-based learning experiences for students such as apprenticeships and internships.
“With this outstanding level of support from the Golden LEAF Foundation, VGCC and our partners are going to energize the local manufacturing sector by investing in a highly skilled workforce,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC. “This grant, along with other manufacturing-related grants our college has recently received, will propel our five-year ‘Vanguard Vision’ strategic plan, which calls us to secure innovative resources, work in collaboration with our communities and lead the economic development of our region.” Dr. Williams noted that students will benefit by being able to obtain local jobs that pay well, while employers will benefit by having access to a ready supply of well-trained employees. “Our goal should be that our industries are always able to find qualified candidates to fill positions from among the local population,” she said. “This initiative is in keeping with VGCC’s long history of responding to local needs through partnership and paving the way for lower unemployment and greater economic progress.”
Grant funds will be distributed among the partners as follows: $65,000 to VGCC; $100,000 to Franklin County Schools ; $100,000 to Warren County Schools ; $100,000 to Vance County Schools ; and $95,000 to Granville County Schools . The equipment provided by grant funds will significantly enhance the facilities of both the college and local high schools, and will be selected for quality and durability to provide many years of successful instructional experiences for students.
Among the programs involved in the alliance are VGCC’s Electrical Systems Technology , Electronics Engineering Technology and Welding curriculum programs; VGCC’s occupational extension/human resources development courses that lead to Career Readiness Certificates and Certified Production Technician credentials; and high-school level vocational courses in topics that range from electrical/electronics systems and manufacturing processes, mechanics, and wood fabrication, to solar energy and renewable energies.
The grant was awarded as part of the Golden LEAF “Essential Skills in Advanced Manufacturing” Initiative, which is intended to address some of the urgent workforce requirements North Carolina faces in closing the skills gap identified by advanced manufacturing companies. The program supports collaborative programs that increase the talent pool of a highly skilled, technical workforce aligned with identified employment opportunities of industries located in tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and/or rural communities in North Carolina.
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