Page 29 - Harnett Life Winter 2020
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taking a broader view of the economic landscape. “The tradi- at the project,” Swindell says. “But we like to take advantage
tional methodology of hanging a help-wanted shingle out in of everything the college offers, like recruitment and job fairs,
front and getting a lot of applicants just isn’t working.” and then we saw a bigger opportunity for something like the
Skilled Trades Academy.
To solve that problem, Champion Homes joined forces with
Central Carolina Community College to develop an innovative “There are a lot of moving pieces.”
plan that combines resources across the college and beyond.
It sounds good to Johnson and Champion Homes. They just
CCCC Industry Training Director Cathy Swindell says dis- need to fill those 50 jobs as quickly as possible before looking
cussions began with the kind of typical customized training to the future and maybe adding even more. “When you’re in
program community colleges design for local industry. But our position, you have a lot of lines in the water and this option
she quickly saw there was more the college could do to help gets to the youth through educational avenues to let them know
Champion Homes, given the specific challenge the company there are good jobs out there,” he said. “Even if they believe
was facing, and she saw how something more comprehensive they lack the skill sets now, CCCC and Champion in Lillington
could develop a new pool of expertise that would benefit the are willing to educate them until they feel comfortable with
community as a whole. the manufacturing environment. And that’s good for all of us.”
To learn more about Central Carolina Community College and
Step One was to help interested workers quickly develop the its programs, visit www.cccc.edu.
broader skills needed to seize opportunity in the construction
industry. To do that, CCCC Continuing Education worked with
the National Center for Construction Education and Research
to create CCCC’s new Skilled Trades Academy, a short-term
credentialing program that teaches general construction skills
— including core construction techniques, safety procedures,
drawing interpretation and related topics. Swindell says this
kind of training makes local graduates especially attractive to
the entire construction industry, whether they end up working
in manufacturing housing or somewhere else.
Then, CCCC developed ways for Champion Homes to sponsor, MATTHEWS
recruit and hire many of those newly trained workers — and
other already-skilled workers in the area — as quickly as pos- Construction & Remodeling
sible by drawing on its expertise in workforce development.
And, finally, the college has finalized plans to provide custom- VINYL WINDOWS & SIDING
ized training in the Lillington facility to help new employees "WE ARE COVID-FREE AND FOLLOWING CDC
specialize those broader construction skills to the specific kind GUIDELINES FOR YOUR SAFETY!!!"
of work required to produce manufactured housing in Lilling-
ton. That phase of the project will begin in coming months, as
students emerge from the Skilled Trades Academy with their
new construction credentials.
It’s a truly collaborative arrangement. There’s CCCC Continu-
ing Education and CCCC Industry Services providing the train-
ing, before and after employees are hired. But the project also
includes CCCC YouthBuild, an educational program providing
free tuition and personal development opportunities for young
people who have faced specific challenges to finishing high
school and achieving their career goals. The Triangle South Don and Cody Matthews
Workforce Development Board is also involved with recruit-
ing and career counseling. And, of course, there’s the National Remodeling Specialists
Center for Construction Education and Research that promotes NO JOB TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL!!
standardized training for the construction industry and accred- matthewscandr@gmail.com
its credentialing program for more than 70 craft areas. www.matthewsconstructionandremodel.com
“This has become a lot bigger than when we started looking 910-263-7800