北卡罗来纳州N.C. – North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced today that 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院 has been awarded a $400,000 grant by the NC Works Local Innovation Fund to provide assistance and job training for individuals with a criminal record who want to return to the workforce.
The grant will fund the College’s new “RE-Build Your Future” program, which will offer training for in-demand jobs in the construction and trucking industries.
“当我出去招聘公司的时候, not only across the country but across the globe, 第一个问题是, ‘Do you have the workforce to perform these jobs that I would bring to your state?’ The state that gets it – the state that understands that education is the key to the jobs of today and tomorrow — is the state that is going to be the winner. I am planning for that state to be North Carolina,” Cooper said.
NCWorks地方创新基金, part of Governor Cooper’s NC 工作 Ready Initiative, supports efforts across the state to address workforce challenges for underserved populations, 增加受教育机会, and develop talent pools for in-demand occupations. After a competitive application process, Rowan-Cabarrus was awarded a two-year implementation grant to execute the RE-Build Your Future program.
“We see a large number of individuals who face barriers to employment because of their criminal background but are willing and eager to find good jobs. 同时, employers in some industries locally are in dire need of trained workers but may have processes in place that limit them from hiring former offenders,” said 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院 president, Dr. 卡罗尔年代. 斯伯丁. “The innovative RE-Build Your Future program will link skilled, 有雇佣雇主的合资格工人, helping to close the skills gap and decreasing the likelihood that former offenders will be reincarcerated.”
Rowan-Cabarrus recognizes that former offenders represent a large pool of untapped talent that is often overlooked by both educational institutions 和雇主. 在罗文和卡巴鲁斯县, 有超过3个,400 former offenders currently under supervised probation, 还有更多有犯罪记录的人. Studies show that former offenders who find work are three times less likely to return to prison.
“超过90%的人, who happen to be incarcerated in our North Carolina prisons, 会回到社会吗. Do we want them to be productive members of society, or do we want them to go right back into doing what got them there to start with?库珀问. “I think we know what our moral obligation is and what our economic obligation is. North Carolina is better and safer when people who have paid their debt to society can find a path to success.”
The RE-Build Your Future program will offer two sequences of training, one leading to certification for work in construction occupations and another preparing students to obtain their Class B Commercial Driver’s License, which is often used in the construction field. Work-based learning opportunities to get on-the-job training also will be available during the training period. 确保成功, eligible students also may receive scholarship and support services to provide assistance with challenges such as transportation and housing.
“This project will lead to transformational change within our communities by helping former offenders find employment and improving employers’ connection to a skilled labor pool,克雷格·兰姆说, vice president of corporate and continuing education at Rowan-Cabarrus. “When people with criminal backgrounds can secure employment and provide for their families, we are able to improve their lives and our communities at large.”
Rowan-Cabarrus will execute the program with key partners, including the Centralina Workforce Development Board, which is financial administrator of the grant, 以及当地的NCWorks就业中心, 执法机构, 社区危机援助机构, 和雇主. The College will hire two professional recruiters to connect with potential students by providing application guidance and leading workshops, information sessions and employer engagement activities.
The two-year program is designed to serve 200 individuals in Rowan and Cabarrus counties.
Interested individuals should visit their local NC Works 职业生涯 Center, or work with the College’s R3 Services team (r3@brewrecords.net, 704-216-7201). For more information about 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院, please visit p4qb.brewrecords.net 或致电704-216-RCCC (7222).