This award provides funding to Haywood Community College (HCC) to support the development of a Workforce and Industry Training Center to provide a ready supply of skilled workers in the infrastructure and construction fields, including power line and broadband installation, transportation, and construction-related industries. For this project, an outdoor training space will be created for the new line worker and broadband technician programs. An existing parking lot will be redesigned to accommodate the truck driver training program and the boom trucks that lineworker and broadband students must be trained to maneuver. An indoor lab and classrooms will be housed at the College’s Regional High Tech Center. HCC anticipates graduating at least 35 individuals during the first two years of the truck driver and line worker programs. The program will focus on participants earning third-party/industry credentials and securing local employment in their field of study. Golden LEAF funding will be used to repurpose a parking lot for use as a truck driver training course, initial funding for instructors and support staff, renovations, equipment, and program supplies.
