(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s community colleges are playing a major role in recruiting new companies to the state, according to a new report.
The Community College System’s NCEdge program provided training for more than 30,000 employees in the 2024-25 fiscal year, the report said. The training was provided in 319 custom designed projects for 848 companies, the report said.
The system training capabilities also helped recruit new companies.
“Companies such as JetZero, Genetech, Amazon, PPG and others all chose the state in part thanks to the state’s leadership in customized training offerings,” the system said in a new a statement. “Those projects alone created nearly 16,000 jobs and drove $16 billion in new investment in North Carolina.”
The training is particularly valuable as an increasing number of companies manufacturing back to the United States.
“With nearshoring and advanced manufacturing trends driving companies to locate in the U.S., NCEdge is filling a huge need in helping businesses quickly upskill talent to meet this growing workforce demand—making it a key driver of economic growth and job creation in the nation’s top state for business,” the system said.
The system includes 58 colleges with students from all 100 counties.
“The workforce development programs led by the North Carolina Community College System are critical to attracting major employers and supporting expansions across the state,” Jeff Cox, president of the system, said in a statement. “By equipping businesses with the skilled talent they need, we’re helping drive economic growth and creating high-quality jobs for our communities.”
The JetZero project in Greensboro, by a California startup company announced in June, is expected to create 14,000 jobs, the most for any single project in North Carolina history.
Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said an available workforce is the most important factor to prospects is the available workforce, Lilly said.
“Time and time again when a company wants to come to North Carolina or expand to North Carolina, they ask the question, ‘Where do I find talent?’” Lilly told The Center Square.
North Carolina was recently named the top state in the country for business in a recent ranking by CNBC. It was third time in four years that the state has achieved that top ranking.
