黑料正能量鈥檚 apprenticeship program was a beneficiary of the U.S. Congress鈥� Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Package.
A $651,000 Community Project Funding request made by then-Congressman G.K. Butterfield was included in the bill for expansion of the college鈥檚 apprenticeship program.
The funding will be used to enhance the college鈥檚 established apprenticeship training programs as well as develop new apprenticeship programs. It will also cover some tuition and fees and allow for the purchase of related equipment such as trainers and simulators.
鈥淲e will be upgrading, adding, and replacing,鈥� said WCC Associate Dean of Career Programs and Applied Technologies Todd King. 鈥淲e are equipment reliant.鈥�
More than half of the appropriation will pay for equipment such as a hydraulic trainer, an Industry 4.0 trainer, motors and controls, and manual lathes to replace older pieces and provide additional machines.
These pieces will go into the future Center for Industrial Technology and Engineering (CITE). Apprentices and other students in Industrial Systems, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Machining, and Operations Management programs will use them.
A portion of the funding is designated to cover half of tuition and fees for Maintenance Technician and Operations Management apprentices, with the employer paying the other half. 鈥淭his is so that companies looking for the next generation of maintenance worker will have some skin in the game,鈥� said Director of Apprenticeships Kristie Sauls.
Resources made possible by this funding 鈥渨ill allow us the opportunity to create another avenue for apprenticeships,鈥� Sauls said. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 have to create anything new, just new for us.鈥�
A planned Nursing apprenticeship will benefit from a patient simulator and other equipment and tuition and fees included in the budget.
鈥淲e are looking to fall 2024 for a Nursing apprenticeship,鈥� Sauls said. 鈥淲e can build on the Sterilization Technician apprenticeship which is new this spring with UNC Health Wayne. As they see success with that, we hope it will open the door for Nursing.鈥�
King said short-term apprenticeships in fields such as HVAC, Carpentry, and Electricity are on the horizon.
鈥淐ompanies look to WCC for skilled workers. WCC has a proven track record of working with these local and regional industries like Smithfield Foods and Mt. Olive Pickle Company to develop apprenticeship programs that are tailored to their specific needs and that help develop employees to take 鈥榟ard-to-fill鈥� positions within their companies,鈥� Butterfield said.
鈥淭his money is helping the college to be competitive by allowing us to help offset the cost of school and providing state of the art equipment for a new building.鈥� Sauls said.
WCC鈥檚 allocation was one of several requests totaling $32,879,497 that Butterfield made for projects across the First Congressional District of North Carolina.
鈥淚t is gratifying that our government leaders see the value in apprenticeships and the need to build a stronger, more robust workforce,鈥� said Sauls. 鈥淭his is win-win. It is supporting the community college and local businesses.鈥�
鈥淚 am a product of eastern North Carolina, and it has been the honor of my life to represent the First District for the past 18 years in Congress. The First District has given so much to me not only over the past 18 years, but all my life. I am incredibly proud to have secured this funding that will have a profound impact in the district long after I鈥檓 gone,鈥� said Butterfield.
WCC President Patty Pfeiffer agreed that the funding will positively affect the college鈥檚 efforts and the community. 鈥淎pprentices earn both college and industry-recognized credentials while also filling a pipeline to help meet industry needs,鈥� she said.
鈥満诹险芰� is very grateful to former Congressman G.K. Butterfield and his team who worked with our college to secure funds through the U.S. Department of Labor to support the expansion of our apprenticeship programs,鈥� Pfeiffer said.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, WCC is one of 144 colleges included in the appropriations package. They will be provided 鈥渃ommunity project funding鈥� from the US Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services for 163 projects.
About 黑料正能量
黑料正能量 is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 10,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 165 college credit programs. WCC鈥檚 mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.