Grants, Student Life

NCC Receives $5,000 Grant to Support Workforce Training Curriculum

The 7×24 Exchange Carolinas Chapter recently presented $5,000 to three North Carolina community colleges, including Nash Community College, Wake Technical Community College and Cleveland Community College. On the same day, $23 million in US Department of Labor funds were awarded to three N.C. community colleges, UNC Charlotte and Moultrie Technical College in Georgia for the development of Mission Critical Operations training. The grant, totaling $15,000 will support marketing and recruitment efforts of the new program.

The growth of Mission Critical Data Centers in the Mid-Atlantic region has created increased demand for operations personnel to maintain the dependability, reliability and energy efficiency of such facilities. In response to that demand, 7×24 Exchange International’s Carolinas Chapter, the leading knowledge exchange for those who design, build, use and maintain mission-critical enterprise information infrastructures, agreed to support a consortium of higher education institutions, led by Cleveland Community College. Cleveland Community College agreed to develop, equip, staff and scale curriculum programs to train and educate the workforce needed for these large data companies and users.

“The Mission Critical Operations skill train has arrived at the station. Those departing (retiring) are taking with them decades of formal and on-job-training skills. Yet, the individual skill sets of those waiting to embark are significantly less than is required by the Mission Critical Industry,” said Paul Marcoux, Senior Vice President of BB&T and the chapter’s Education Chair. “Mission Critical is not just about data centers, it’s about the thousands of people behind the scenes keeping critical support functions operating, 24-7, 365 days a year, including hospitals, critical manufacturing process, 911 call centers, bio manufacturing and hundreds of other critical industries, all facing the same skill shortage.”

Pictured from left: 7×24 Carolinas Membership Chairman David Knight, NCC President Dr. Bill Carver, NC Community College System President Dr. Scott Ralls, 7×24 Carolinas Education Committee Chairman Paul Marcoux, 7×24 Carolinas President Tom Jacobik and 7×24 Carolinas Advisor Robin Aron.