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New toolkit looks at advanced manufacturing partnerships across rural North Carolina

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A student working on a solution in a biotechnology class at Pitt Community College. Alli Lindenberg/EdNC

The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) announced a new rural advanced manufacturing toolkit featuring “innovative partnership models that are meeting the evolving workforce demands of the state’s advanced manufacturing sector, particularly in rural regions,” according to a recent press release. 

The new resource was created by the Rural Postsecondary Practices Partnership (RP3), a collaborative group including the NCCCS, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, EducationNC, and myFutureNC. 

North Carolina has nearly 50 rural-serving community colleges, the largest rural college network in the country. RP3 draws insights from these institutions and identifies and lifts up “data-informed practices that enhance workforce development, student success, and economic mobility in rural regions.”

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More about the rural advanced manufacturing toolkit 

Advanced manufacturing refers to using innovative technologies, processes, and methods to improve product design, production, and distribution. Some of North Carolina’s advanced manufacturing industries include aerospace, biotechnology, and renewable energy.  

The advanced manufacturing sector is integral to the state’s economy and requires individuals with the necessary skills to meet the demands of evolving industries. Manufacturing generates 17% of North Carolina’s gross state product, and the sector employs 474,000 North Carolinians, representing 10% of the state’s workforce. Given that, developing a sustainable pipeline, particularly in rural areas, is key to North Carolina’s economic growth. 

Community colleges have long been heralded as workforce engines, playing a critical role in addressing workforce needs and graduating qualified workers. These institutions respond to employer needs across multiple sectors, including advanced manufacturing, “serving as local and regional hubs for education and training,” the toolkit notes.

The toolkit was developed through a series of conversations with college leaders and a scan of publicly available information. RP3 identified dozens of examples of partnerships involving North Carolina’s rural-serving community colleges and “mapped these back to a series of collaborative strategies being leveraged by colleges in response to advanced manufacturing opportunities.”

Partnerships like the ones mentioned throughout the toolkit are not unique to rural communities, but they do play an essential role for North Carolina’s rural-serving institutions. 

“We know that strong partnerships are the key to unlocking workforce potential in rural areas,” said Dr. Zach Barricklow, interim vice president of strategic initiatives for NCCCS. “This toolkit highlights how North Carolina’s community colleges are not only meeting the needs of advanced manufacturing employers, but also driving economic resilience in the communities they serve.”

More than 45 of the state’s community colleges are represented in the toolkit, though it is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all rural-serving advanced manufacturing partnerships. RP3 hopes that by “lifting up selected examples of successful partnership models, we can raise awareness about and promote additional support for these partnerships and the many others like them across the state.” 

The toolkit lays out advanced manufacturing workforce opportunities, including: 

  • Recruiting the next generation of talent to a changing manufacturing landscape.
  • Keeping pace with evolving industry demands via updates to space, equipment/technology, and curriculum.
  • Responding nimbly and collaboratively to meet the real-time and future needs of advanced manufacturing employers across the state.

There are over 10 partnership strategies grouped according to the advanced manufacturing opportunity they address. The partnership strategies range from coordinating supporting work-based learning opportunities and developing fast and flexible pathways, including stackable and micro-credentials. 

Strategy spotlight example from RP3 advanced manufacturing toolkit

After each partnership strategy, the toolkit then lists colleges deploying specific strategies and provides additional information about the partnership. The toolkit also spotlights several strategies being used across the state. 

This is the second toolkit created by RP3 focused on high-demand workforce sectors. You can view the rural health care partnerships toolkit here.