A grassy field along a rural highway may seem like an unlikely place to mark the beginning of a new academic year. For Vance-Granville Community College, however, the field represents something much bigger: a future training center designed to connect students with in-demand careers and create new opportunities in Warren County and beyond.
On the first day of the fall semester, while students were settling into classrooms and looking to the year ahead, VGCC leaders were looking further into the future. They gathered at the future site of the Transportation Training & Technology Center (TTTC) in Soul City to recognize the progress already made toward bringing the project to life.
Representatives of the College’s Executive Team and Board Chair Xavier L. Wortham joined officials from Warren County Government, Warren County Schools, and members of the community at the site. Former NC House Rep. Michael Wray was also in attendance; during his time representing District 27, Wray worked to secure funding to support the planned facility.
The approximately 11,000-gross-square-foot Transportation Training & Technology Center will bring several workforce training opportunities together under one roof, including CDL Truck Driver Training, Heavy Equipment Operations, and a new Diesel & Heavy Equipment Mechanics program.
The location is intentional. Situated in Soul City, one of North Carolina’s most historically underserved communities, the Center is envisioned as more than a place to train workers. It will create accessible pathways into skilled, potentially high-wage careers while helping residents build skills that can lead to greater economic stability for themselves and their families.
For Warren County and the surrounding region, the Center also represents an investment in the workforce that supports transportation, construction, logistics, and other industries. By bringing specialized training closer to the communities it serves, Vance-Granville Community College aims to help students turn workforce training into long-term career opportunities.
The vision is moving forward, but there is still work to be done.
VGCC is currently fundraising for the TTTC while simultaneously advancing another major expansion project, the Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Technology. Additional support will help move the Transportation Training & Technology Center into its design phase and bring the project closer to an official groundbreaking.
For now the site remains a grassy field along the highway, but that landscape will look very different in the not-to-distant future—filled with students learning the skills that can help drive the future of Warren County and the region.
To learn more about the Transportation Training & Technology Center or become a supporter of the project, contact The VGCC Foundation at (252) 738-3264.
