Governor McCrory Attends NCBCE Meeting, Highlights Fayetteville Technical Community College Program | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Raleigh, N.C.     Governor Pat McCrory met with members of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education at its All-Member Meeting today at the Governor's Mansion. During the meeting, Governor McCrory stressed initiatives like NCWorks, a program that creates a stronger alignment of services and resources to meet the workforce needs of businesses in order to get more people in jobs, the "1000 in 100" statewide listening tour, and unique partnerships between community colleges and businesses.

    "NCBCE members are crucial partners when it comes to connecting commerce and education, closing the skills gap, and growing our economy, and I thank them for their continued dedication and hard work," said Governor McCrory.

    Governor McCrory specifically highlighted a partnership between Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) and NCBCE members Gerber Collison and Nationwide Insurance. Dr. Larry Keen, president of FTCC, said he looked for input after learning from local body shops that there was of a labor shortage in the collision repair industry. Keen worked with Paul Gage, an industry veteran to develop curriculum and lead a new associate degree program in advanced collision repair at FTCC. According to the Fayetteville Observer, the inaugural class, which started in August of 2014, already has well-paying jobs waiting after graduation. Gage said graduates can expect to make a starting salary of about $45,000 and some can earn upward of $100,000. For more information on the program, please click here.

    "It is so encouraging to see business and education leaders working together to identify skills gaps and then fill them by creating programs just like the one at Fayetteville Tech. With more and more programs like this throughout our state, we will continue to get people back to work," continued Governor McCrory.

    Located in the Office of the Governor, the NCBCE is a nonpartisan, nonprofit comprised of North Carolina's corporate experts. NCBCE is the leadership organization that connects businesses, educators, students and policy makers to support workforce development ensuring North Carolina has a vibrant economy. For more information on the NCBCE, visit www.ncbce.org.

• Contact: Crystal Feldman
•     govpress@nc.gov