Customized Training Program helps attract and retain business in North Carolina

Surry Community College has been a tremendous help to us not only in planning our training program for our new plant in Elkin, but in assisting with pre-hire assessments as well,” says Bob McCulloch, Pittsburgh Glass Human Resources Vice-President.



Pittsburgh Glass Works is making an $85 million investment to locate a new facility in Elkin. The company will create 260 new jobs with average annual salaries of over $39,500, an exciting economic development opportunity for new jobs in a rural community. Hiring will most likely begin in the spring of 2012.



Partnerships like the one with Pittsburgh Glass are what North Carolina’s Customized Training Program is all about. For more than 50 years, NC Community Colleges have supported business and industry through company-specific training. According to the Customized Training Expenditure Report recently submitted to the legislature, from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, the Customized Training Program was involved in 251 projects related to job growth, productivity enhancement and/or investments in technology.



Manufacturing continues to be a focus of job growth in North Carolina, with 91 percent of projects during fiscal year 2010-11 involving manufacturing companies located within the state. More than 17,000 North Carolinians were trained for these manufacturing companies, with 16,770 jobs projected to be created by these projects over a three year period.



“One of the many reasons companies choose to locate and remain in North Carolina is the guarantee that a skilled workforce awaits them and that workforce can be trained further to meet the company’s specific needs as they evolve,” says Dr. Scott Ralls, N.C. Community College System President. “Our Customized Training Program is a huge incentive to business and industry, and the increased number of projects over the past year is a reflection of companies’ desire to invest in this state and its citizens.”



In addition to the 251 projects related to job growth, productivity enhancement and/or investments in technology, the Customized Training Program has assisted with projects related to business and industry support as well as regional and local capacity building, resulting in a 21 percent increase from the previous year.



Business and industry eligible for support through the Customized Training Program include aerospace and aviation, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, business services, logistics warehousing and information technology. In order to receive assistance, eligible business and industry must demonstrate two or more of the following criteria:



• The business is making an appreciable capital investment.



• The business is deploying new technology.



• The business is creating jobs, expanding an existing workforce, or enhancing productivity and profitability of the operations within the state.



• The skills of the workers will be enhanced by the assistance.



For more information on the state’s Customized Training Program, contact Kevin Kimrey, 386-3684 at Surry or call Maureen Little, Associate Vice President for Customized Training, NCCCS at 919-807-7150.



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