Boomtowns NC: Community colleges across the Triangle play key role in economic development

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) — As North Carolina continues to earn praise for its economic development, the state’s community college system is playing a major role in workforce training.

“What sets us apart is our talent and our ability to produce more talent all the time. No other southeastern state can boast our community college system, with 58 institutions that are nimbly presenting new curricula that meet the needs of these companies,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley, who was recently part of a delegation to travel to Japan in efforts to attract further investment in the state.

Lila Bradshaw, who is in her final semester at Johnston Community College, is excited at the opportunities afforded to her in the classroom.

“At JCC, you can really get the education you need to be able to go into those workforces,” Bradshaw explained.

“One of our buildings, the Workforce Development Center, is basically funded almost entirely by our biopharma industry partners. Students can come for a BioWork certificate and be in and out of the program in just a matter of weeks, and they’re instantly employable by either Novo Nordisk or Grifols or any of the other biopharma (companies),” explained Dr. Vern Lindquist, the President of Johnston Community College.

Bradshaw hopes to land a temp job in the life sciences industry before attending NC State.

“With the programs at JCC, you can apply (the skills) to a lot of different jobs, especially in RTP. There’s a whole lot of firms (and) companies opening,” Bradshaw explained.

Earlier this year, NC State announced the formation of Wolfpack Connect, a program which provides a guaranteed admissions pathway for community college students who meet certain criteria.

“I’m very glad I went to a community college first before I decided to go to a university because the community, in my opinion, is way different. It’s a lot smaller, it’s a lot more affordable,” Bradshaw explained.

Across the North Carolina Community College System, enrollment has increased just over 10% over the past four academic years.

“I’ve been in Virginia, Illinois, New York. I’ve never been in a market that’s growing like this before. This is just kind of off the charts growth. The system itself is growing, not just us. It’s pretty amazing to be in a place where every year the college is getting bigger and better, and I’m hiring more faculty,” said Lindquist.

Keeping up with that growth remains a challenge.

“We’re seeing waiting lists across the board that began in July in areas where we don’t want to have waiting lists. Electricians, HVAC, law enforcement area. So the biggest challenge for us and the only thing that limits our growth right now is our ability to hire additional instructors,” said Dr. Scott Ralls, President of Wake Tech.

Ralls pointed to PropelNC, a model which incentivizes schools to invest in high-demand sectors.

“We’re the largest education provider for public safety, law enforcement/fire in the state and other areas like that, or the new companies that are coming in. Biopharma – being one of the fastest growing regions to our health care, where we’re primary higher education health care delivery. Across the breadth of all the job needs in Wake County, we are there,” Ralls explained.