Qualified Workers Get Certified in Lincoln County

Actavis Takes the Lead with Career Readiness Certification

Actavis is the first business in Lincoln County to utilize the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) program as part of their new hire process. The CRC program is increasingly being used by businesses throughout the country to ensure that potential and current employees have the necessary skills.

After a recent $20 million expansion that was completed in December at Indian Creek Industrial Park, Actavis decided to focus on their future workers and this included getting jobs profiled utilizing the Work Keys assessment system. The company had skill sets profiled for the new maintenance, packaging, and warehouse positions that were recently created from the expansion.

The CRC program measures an employee’s ability to read for information, perform applied math, and locate information in relation to specific jobs. For many companies that use the Career Readiness Certification and also do job profiling it can ensure they get the right candidate for the right job and streamline a costly hiring process.

“The applications we are receiving are so many that you spend a lot of time eliminating many of them,” said Tom Miltier, Actavis director of human resources for factories in Lincoln County and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Centralina Workforce Development Board member. “This was a way to make our hiring process more efficient.”

More and more local companies are looking into utilizing the CRC as part of their hiring process. The Career Readiness Certification program is available in every county in the Centralina WDB region. Anyone interested in taking the CRC for a job, or any business interested in having a new position profiled can contact their local JobLink Career Center or community college for more information. To find your local JobLink Career Center, please click here or visit the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s website at www.centralinaworks.com.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board is proud to see local businesses using the Career Readiness Certification to find qualified workers in today’s competitive global market. The Board believes that the CRC will make our region a leader for competing in the global economy. For more information on the Career Readiness Certification program and the Centralina Workforce Development Board, please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or by e-mail at dhollars@centralina.org.

This is No Pipe Dream!

Chicago Tube & Iron Company Invests and Creates New Jobs in Stanly County

Governor Mike Easley announced on January 30, 2008 that Chicago Tube & Iron Company (CT&I) will invest $10.8 million, expand its facilities, and create 42 new jobs during the next three years in Stanly County.

Chicago Tube & Iron is a national supplier and fabricator of custom-made industrial and commercial tubing. It is a privately held company with sales and fabrication facilities in 10 locations across the country.

The company’s plant in Oakboro currently employs 76 workers who produce boiler elements for the electric utility industry. The company will add the 42 jobs to the existing 76 and expand into a new 128,000 square-foot facility that will be built on an 18-acre site in nearby Locust.

Individual wages for the 42 new jobs will vary according by job title and responsibilities, but the overall average is expected to be around $42,000 a year not including benefits.

“We are thrilled to be able to expand our operations within our current home in Stanly County,” said CT&I President and Chief Operating Officer Don McNeeley. “We have always been pleased with the quality of the labor force here, and the incentives provided by both the state and local authorities made staying in North Carolina the right call for both our company and our employees.”

Stay tuned to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this exciting development in the region!

Fortune 500 Company Sets Footprint for Growth

Goodrich Corporation Announces Expansion in Monroe

Goodrich Corporation located in Union County is expanding its Customer Services headquarters and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) campus.

This Fortune 500 company, a global supplier of systems and services to aerospace, defense and homeland security markets, announced its $5.5 million facility expansion and stated that it was scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2008. It will allow the company to increase its capabilities and allow for additional services, including complex repairs of helicopter actuation products and large aircraft cargo systems.

“Expanding our Monroe campus will help Goodrich grow its business services through providing best value, exceptional quality and fast turn times to our customers,” said Paul Snyder, President of Customer Services for Goodrich. “We are positioned to support the growing aerospace market with new technology, skills and equipment for commercial and military customers worldwide.”

The facility located in Monroe currently operates at 65,000 square feet and provides MRO and aftermarket support services for a variety of commercial and military aircraft components. The Monroe headquarters received a Manufacturing Achievement Award in 2006 from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce’s Manufacturing Business Alliance for organizational performance improvement.

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this developing story.

Portable Power Housed in Statesville

Doosan Infracore Announces Move to Iredell County Facility and Creation of New Jobs

Doosan Infracore, a Korean manufacturer has purchased the vacant Dana plant in Statesville. The company will house its Portable Power division and regional headquarters in the 473,000 square-foot facility. The plant will employ 400 people, including an estimated 60 new employees.

Doosan Infracore is the largest Korean company in North Carolina and just recently purchased a division of Ingersoll-Rand for $4.9 billion.

This move from Mocksville to Statesville will allow the company to consolidate some of its operations in a single location. At the Statesville facility they will manufacture air compressors, light towers and portable generators at the plant.

Manufacturing operations will begin to changeover from the plant in Mocksville in April 2008, and should be completed by the fourth quarter. The business headquarters will relocate to Statesville from Davidson, along with a number of satellite distribution centers.

For information on possible employment with Doosan Infracore, please contact Jean Manall at the Iredell County JobLink Career Center in Statesville at (704) 878-4241 or by e-mail at jean.manall@ncmail.net.

$1.4 Million Expansion in Union

Tensylon High Performance Materials, Inc. Completes Plant Addition

Modification Complete! That’s what Tensylon High Performance Materials Inc. located in Union County can finally say since they have completed their 18,000 square-foot addition to its Piedmont Drive plant.

Tensylon makes high strength polyethylene fibers used in body and vehicle armor. They produce about 100,000 pounds of polyethylene fiber per month, and next year after the growth that amount is expected to double.

Expanding the facility will also allow the company to add as many as 42 jobs and company officials expect to employ about 60 workers by the end of 2008.

The plant has undergone a $1.4 million expansion to 48,000 square-feet from 30,000 square-feet. The facility in Union County also houses research and development operations.

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this developing story.

A Golden Gait to a Booming Industry

Golden Gait Trailers Moves to Kannapolis and Adds Jobs

Golden Gait Trailers, a cargo-trailer manufacturer has started production in Kannapolis after moving from Mecklenburg County in December 2007. The move will help the company have greater access to the motorsports teams that are among its primary customers.

The facility measures 53,000 square-feet, which is a large improvement from their 10,000 square-foot space that they left on Mount Holly-Huntersville Road. Since moving to Kannapolis they have added 11 employees and plan to add 50 more within three years.

Golden Gait is a dealership with a large shop for creating mobile command centers, concession stands, livestock haulers and race-car trailers.

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-newsletter and its website (www.centralinaworks.com) for up to date information on this exciting new development in the region.

It’s Going to Be a Ripe Season

Blackberry Company Looks to Lincoln County for Fertile Ground

SunnyRidge Farm Inc. has announced that they will spend about $2 million to make Lincoln County a farming and distribution center for a patented form of blackberries.

The Florida based company plans to bring a golf-ball-sized fruit from the Lincoln area to market at a time of the year when the berry is usually not available.

The company is looking to purchase 5 acres near NC highways 18 and 27 where a 4,200 square-foot distribution center would need to be ready by June. The distribution center will cost about $400,000 and will ship blackberries to Canada and Europe as well as throughout the US.

SunnyRidges expects to ship more than $11 million in blackberries from the site by 2011.

Growing blackberries may be replacing apples and other marginal crops for Lincoln County growers, says Daniel Shires, NC Cooperative Extension agent in Shelby.

“It’s an opportunity to keep the family farm running,” he says. “It’s a great way to keep agriculture alive in this part of North Carolina.”

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this developing story.

January's Business Survey Prize Winner is…

Each month, the Centralina Workforce Development Board holds a drawing from Business Surveys that area businesses have completed and posted on our website.

Centralina is pleased to announce that the winner of this month’s drawing is R-Anell Housing Group, LLC in Cherryville, NC. Keith Surgenor of R-Anell Housing Group completed and submitted the survey. We thank Keith for helping us with our continuous improvement feedback process! For more information about R-Anell Housing Group please visit www.r-anell.com.

If you haven't completed the survey, you can do so now by going to our website. It only takes a couple of minutes and by completing the survey, it will guarantee your entry into our next drawing.

For more information on the Centralina Workforce Development Employer Survey and the business services available through the Board and our local JobLink Career Centers, please contact Vail Carter at (704) 348-2710 or by email at vcarter@centralina.org.

New Graduates from Iredell County Teen Entrepreneur Program

Teen Health, Inc., a nonprofit agency that serves Iredell County, has graduated another 35 youth in the county that are budding entrepreneurs.

The program has completed its ninth Teen Entrepreneur Program (TEP), raising the number of Iredell County sophomores who have graduated from the program to 234.

The Teen Entrepreneur Program teaches high school sophomores the basics of business, and has the youth planning, organizing and running their own businesses.

“This program is based on the nationally recognized model for Teen Entrepreneurship, YoungBiz,” said Christy Hare, TEP’s senior program manager. “The high school sophomores in this program learn about business components through a series of hands on applications.”

The youth have to create their own business cards, flyers, write up sales orders and have to perform detailed financial analyses of their individual business. A 14 page business plan is also part of the program.

The students don’t go through the program alone, local businesses participate as well and offer advice on various topics, such as legal aspects, customer service and sales. The youth also visited many local businesses to see how they operated on a day to day basis.

The tenth session of the Teen Entrepreneur Program began this month. For more information please contact Christy Hare at (704) 872-1023. The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina Youth Council is a strong partner with Teen Health, Inc. and believes that encouraging our upcoming workforce to think outside of the box will lead to a dynamic competitive future workforce in the region. For more information on the Centralina WDB Youth Council, please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2725 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

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Rowan-Salisbury School System Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom announced that the school system will launch a new initiative starting in January 2008 that will focus on teaching students 21st Century skills through technology-based learning.

She stated that she will create several “model classrooms” throughout the system equipped with the latest technology.

“We want the students to be global and more competitive,” Grissom said. “To do that, they really do need to be focusing on technology.”

The model classrooms will focus on project-based learning and teaching students how to move beyond basic competency and understand concepts at a high level. Grissom stated that the model classrooms will also help teachers learn how to transfer technology knowledge to students in a productive environment.

“I think this is going to be so exciting for our school system,” Grissom said.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina Youth Council are proud to be partners with the Rowan-Salisbury School System and are excited to see schools embracing technology to reach the future workforce of tomorrow. The Board and Youth Council are strong partners with all of the public school systems in the region. For more information on the Centralina WDB Youth Council, please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2725 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

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Charlotte Area Health Education Center Offers Another Grant

The Charlotte Area Health Education Center is a division of the Carolinas HealthCare system through a contractual agreement with UNC-Chapel Hill. They provide quality educational opportunities for all healthcare professionals by building partnerships, promoting recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals and advancing healthcare in the communities we serve.

They also support a grant funded program called HEROES (Health Career Education Reaching Out to Excellent Students) that was established in 2001 that offers funding for health career summer camps. The grant is for organizations that serve elementary, middle and high school students. The minimum requirements for the grant are that at least 20 hours of one business week must be devoted to health career education. Also, the recruitment and enrollment must include 15 diverse students. Other requirements for the grant, along with the Request for Proposal for the grant can be found on the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s website at www.centralinaworks.com. Note that the deadline for submission of grant proposals for health career camps for this summer is MARCH 10, 2008.

The Charlotte Area Health Education Center serves the following Centralina counties: Anson, Cabarrus, Lincoln, Stanly and Union. For more information about the Charlotte Area Health Education Center and their connection to the communities in the counties listed above, please contact Michelle Boyd at (704) 512-6530 or by e-mail at Michelle.Boyd@carolinashealthcare.org.

The Northwest Area Health Education Center serves the following Centralina counties: Iredell and Rowan. For more information about the Northwest Area Health Education Center and their connection to the communities in the counties listed above, please contact Bernard Roper at (336) 713-7000 or visit them on the web at www.northwestahec.wfubmc.edu.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina Youth Council encourage its partners to apply for these grants. This is an exciting opportunity to partner with another organization to increase students’ awareness of health careers.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board supports and partners with organizations like the Charlotte Area Health Education Center to help prepare the youth of today for the jobs of tomorrow. For more information on the collaboration between the Charlotte AHEC and the Centralina Workforce Development Board Youth Council, please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or at dhollars@centralina.org.

This Workshop is for You!

If Workforce Development Professionals are to have a positive impact on the future of youth who are ages 19 – 21, they must understand their culture, their needs, and their interests.

The NC Workforce Development Training Center is offering a hands-on, interactive training that will help those that work with older youth be able to engage them and retain them. Topics covered in the training include: marketing and social branding for 21st century, creating equity and partnership with older youth, follow-up strategies to keep them coming back and practice of multi-risk based activities.

Eric Rowles, President of Leading to Change, Inc. is leading the workshop. He is a national trainer, speaker and consultant who has worked with over 400 communities, schools, organizations, and Workforce Development Boards within the past 15 years.

The training will be held on March 13, 2008 at the Workforce Development Training Center in Raleigh. The registration fee is $55 and the workshop runs from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. To register or to find out more information about the Engaging and Retaining Older Youth in WIA Programs please contact Robin Broome at (919) 329-5588 or by email at rbroome@nccommerce.com.

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Students in the U.S. perform below average in science and math literacy.

This is according to a new report, Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students on Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International Context, by the National Center for Education Statistics.

The report reveals that the average score for U.S. students in science was lower than the average for 56 countries. The U.S. average score in mathematics was also lower. See the full report, by clicking here.