Western Piedmont Community College Receives $760,000 from Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Initiative
WPCC’S Skilled Trades Program Growth Project is part of a $21 million award package and will provide in-demand electrical, HVAC, carpentry, masonry, and plumbing training programs for coal-impacted communities in North Carolina’s Piedmont region.
Morganton, NC – Western Piedmont Community College has been awarded $760,000 by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to expand its existing construction and heavy machinery programs to provide Skilled Trades training for underemployed workers, high school students, recent graduates, and individuals who have dropped out of the workforce. The project will service Alexander, Burke, and Caldwell counties.
This award is part of a recently announced $21 million package supporting 21 projects serving 211 coal-impacted counties through ARC’s POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. POWER targets federal resources to communities affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries.
“I commend Western Piedmont Community College for innovating and collaborating to grow opportunities for people in their own community and neighboring communities,” ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin said. “Partners like WPCC are integral to making our POWER projects come to life, and I look forward to seeing the ways our Appalachian Region continues to grow, thanks to the impact of their work.”
Since POWER launched in 2015, ARC has invested nearly $316.6 million in 393 projects across 358 coal-impacted counties. The nearly $73 million awarded in 2021 is projected to create/retain over 10,383 jobs and attract nearly $527.3 million in leveraged private investments.
WPCC will partner with the Burke County School System to design a critical training curriculum to align industry needs for a pipeline of trained skilled trades workers. Other key partners include Burke County, Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, Catawba Valley Community College, and local construction and building companies, who will serve on advisory committees and interview qualified program graduates for employment opportunities.
“The critical funds provided by the ARC POWER award will allow us to hire needed faculty and staff to address the regional trades person shortage,” WPCC’s Dean of Applied Technologies Michael Daniels said. “One limiting factor when developing major programs like our Skilled Trades Growth Project is access to people. To hire these new faculty and staff to support our growing Skilled Trades program is a game-changer.”
Additional support for WPPC’s Skilled Trades Program Growth Project is provided by the Golden LEAF Foundation, which announced in April 2021 that Western Piedmont Community College will receive $1.5 million to build a Skilled Trades Solution Center. The Skilled Trades Solution Center will house the new carpentry, masonry, electrical technologies, HVAC, plumbing and green construction programs funded by the ARC POWER award.
“The ARC POWER award will allow us to develop innovative programs within our Skilled Trades program that will have a major impact across our region,” WPCC President Dr. Joel Welch said. “It empowers us to expand the scope and quality of the training required to prepare new students and existing workers for these critically in-demand positions.”
WPCC is the only institution in North Carolina to receive the highly competitive POWER award. Other award recipients include the University of Pittsburgh and Mississippi State University.
About the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC):
The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia.