The North Carolina Department of Commerce has recognized local efforts to provide essential workforce training by awarding Cleveland Community College and its partners the Maximize Carolina Sector grant. The grant money will support CCC's new Electrical Lineworker Academy.
"The need for electrical lineworkers is expected to continue growing over the next few years due to an aging workforce and aging infrastructure," said Ken Mooney, vice president of Continuing Education. "These are good jobs that pay well and offer workers the opportunity to increase wages as they learn and gain experience. The problem is qualified applicants need some pretty specific basic skills. Those basic skills are what students in the Academy will learn."
Grant funds will be used for outreach to high school and middle school students through career fairs and power utility event programming. Outreach to unemployed and underemployed citizens will take place through regional career and job fairs. Funds will provide recruiting resources to minorities and females, as well as to help prepare Academy completers with math and reading skills test preparation required for employment in the field. Course delivery, student field progress report software, and highlighting Electrical Lineworkers at the "Making It Work" event this fall encompass the project budget.
With no electrical lineworker training programs in the Region C Workforce Development area (Cleveland, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford counties), CCC will meet the demand of local employers by implementing this training academy. According to employment data forecasts, there are approximately 600 electrical lineworker job openings locally and across the Region C area.
"The team submitting this grant proposal consisted of leadership from Region C Workforce Development, employer partners, and Cleveland Community College," said Emily Sisk, grants development coordinator, who worked closely with project partners to craft the grant proposal. "We were able to demonstrate a high demand for electrical lineworkers in our service area but few available training programs, as well as a low number of qualified job candidates with entry level skills."
The North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Solutions announced the Maximize Carolina Sector Grants earlier this year for local partnerships to develop and implement projects in targeted sectors designed to solve applicant pipeline problems related to skills gaps or workforce shortages.
The first Electrical Lineworker Academy began on June 26 and will run for nine weeks. Academy graduates will receive numerous credentials and certifications including their CDL Class A, "O" Restriction License, OSHA, CPR, and more. A schedule of future academies and other information is available at clevelandcc.edu/ela.
Submitted by Paula B. Vess