First Posted: 9/26/2013

To the Editor,

Getting North Carolinians back to work is my top priority, and I was thrilled to announce recently that Robeson Community College will receive a $3.4 million grant to help train workers for jobs that are available now. This grant will help RCC, one of our state’s outstanding community colleges, teach much-needed skills to workers who have struggled to find a job for far too long.

In particular, the program will help our veterans, long-term unemployed workers, and workers who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing. As part of a new consortium of colleges that will train and educate residents in rural communities such as Lumberton, RCC will train workers for new career pathways in health care fields.

RCC will work with local private employers and workforce boards to ensure students learn essential skills to enter jobs available right now, a concept that is embodied in my bipartisan jobs bill called the AMERICA Works Act. Key parts of my AMERICA Works Act advanced this summer and can now be considered by the full Senate, which is an important step forward for all North Carolinians looking for work.

Too many North Carolinians, especially in Robeson County, remain out of work, and this grant to develop and expand RCC’s job training program will help middle-class families get back on their feet. I will continue working to pass my bipartisan AMERICA Works Act that would build on these programs and help North Carolinians across our state.

Kay Hagan

U.S. senator