Robeson Community College is dedicated to providing support and economic development to businesses and industry in Robeson County.

The college’s Workforce Customized Training, or WCT, Program offers customized training assistance, professional development and lifelong learning opportunities to local companies. The program also prepares North Carolina’s workforce with essential skills needed to keep the industry growing.

“The WCT Program is critical to sustaining economic growth in our region. In our local industries, many different end products are made requiring many different types of equipment and specialized skill sets by the workforce,” said Steven Hunt, vice president of Workforce Development and Continuing Education. “Since the needs are not one-size-fits-all, the WCT Program allows the training to be customized or ‘tailor-made’ to meet the specific needs of the manufacturing plant, thus allowing for increased efficiency and optimization.”

The WCT Program supports the state’s economic development efforts by providing education and training opportunities for businesses and industries.

“We work with the industry to find out where there is a curve in the road, so to speak,” said Jamie Collins, director of the NCWorks Customized Training Program at RCC. “We then create classes needed to help straighten out the curve.”

Collins said RCC can create classes for a company that may need help training their employees with their equipment’s specialized vendor.

“If you are starting a new company, bring in new technology, or want to grow efficiently, we can create a program just for you,” Collins said.

Those eligible for support include manufacturing, technology-intensive (i.e., information technology, life sciences), regional or national warehousing and distribution centers, customer support centers, air courier services, national headquarters with operations outside of North Carolina, and civil service employees providing technical support to U.S. military installations located in North Carolina.

Since the program’s implementation in 2012, RCC has helped more than 11 industries in Robeson County. Watts Water Technologies is just one of the many companies that have reached out to RCC.

“We reached out to RCC to help us identify and understand our training goals and deficiencies. They customized a program to provide professional and technical training specifically designed with our needs and culture in mind,” said Kimberly Futrell, Watts Water Technologies’ Human Resources manager.

“Through the use of RCC instructors, regional trainers and third-party vendors, we were able to reduce turnover, improve efficiency and reduce costs,” Futrell said.

Employees eligible for training include personnel involved in the direct production of goods and services, production and technology support positions, and full-time probationary Employees need not be North Carolina residents.

To receive assistance, eligible businesses and industries must demonstrate two or more of the following criteria:

— The business is making an appreciable capital investment;

— The business is deploying new technology;

— The business is creating jobs, expanding an existing workforce or enhancing the productivity and profitability of the operations within the state;

— The assistance will enhance the skills of the workers.

“We can teach almost any subject you can imagine,” Collins said. “We can train in CNC programming, leadership, international quality standards, or communication and teamwork. Our instructors are ready to meet a company’s specific job-training needs.”

For more information on the Workforce Customized Training Program go to www.robeson.edu/ncct/.

Maureen A. Metzger is the Public Information associate at Robeson Community College.