Just one day after VinFast’s announcement of their plans to build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Chatham County, state leaders are already preparing to train and build a workforce to fill the thousands of new jobs.
It’s the biggest jobs announcement in state history, and Gov. Roy Cooper says he’s counting on workforce development leaders to put the wheels in motion. Less than 24 hours later, the North Carolina Community College System said they’ll be pouring $38 million into training programs for VinFast.
Just in the past year, the state has gained more than 11,000 new advanced manufacturing jobs from VinFast, Boom and Toyota, plus 4000 tech sector jobs at Apple and Google.
“The requirements for these new jobs and better paying jobs are changing. The education is changing. And we have to align ourselves to meet the demand where it is,” said Cooper in a press conference on Wednesday.
NC state economist Mike Walden says the workers are out there, but many will have to be retrained to transition from other jobs that will soon be less in demand.
“We’re going to have some industries that are going to go more to technology, reduce their use of human workers, those people are going to have to go somewhere else,” says Walden.
Cooper encouraged the state workforce board to work more closely with local officials to tailor new training programs to the needs of their local employers and workers. Walden says the key is making those programs accessible and relatively short.
“Take someone who’s maybe in their mid-30s. They have a family to support, and they can’t go to college for four or five years. They need something fast to be trained in a job that now is in need,” says Walden.
The NCWorks Commission voted unanimously today to urge local workforce boards to streamline their operations and work more closely with their local community colleges.
Advanced skills in robotics, electrical engineering
Central Carolina Community College provides training that puts students on a path for a future career that’s ‘just up the road’ in Chatham County.
VinFast’s move into the state is sparking an expansion of the college’s current programs to provide more advanced skills in robotics and electrical engineering to build high-tech vehicles.
Michael Damico, an automotive systems technology student who has a passion for cars, is excited about the opportunities ahead.
“It’s really cool that it’s going to be North Carolina’s first auto manufacturer and have cars built here,” he says.
He’s training to become a technician during a fast-paced time in the industry — when everything under the hood is becoming more high tech.
“We know it’s critically important to our community to make sure we’re prepared to support the workforce needs,” says Lisa Chapman, the president of Central Carolina Community College.
The Sanford-based community college is leading the development of new training programs for the automaker.
But, it’s not alone.
Wake Tech will play a part in that at its new Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence, where students are already learning to service electric vehicles.
The community college is also building a new advanced manufacturing campus in Wendell.
“Just the shear size of the announcement and impending jobs will require a regional approach to provide that education for employees,” says Thomas Stith, NC Community College System President.
Stith says they’ll work closely with VinFast to design pre-employment training programs and get students started in them very soon.
VinFast plans to be up and running in Chatham County in 2024.
