This hybrid event was held at the NC Telecenter and via Zoom on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Around 20 people were in-person and another 28 online, including about 16 local employers and a variety of representatives from local community agencies and community partners. A huge THANK YOU to all of our partners and speakers for the event. You can find their contact information here:

Trey Goodson (NCEast Alliance) moderated the event. You can find recordings of the other regional webinars he has moderated here: https://www.nceast.org/eastern-nc-advantages/regional-webinars/

Jason Semple (Martin County Economic Development) began with a brief overview of our regional economy, focusing on the commuting patterns and the need to reach across county lines.

Pam Taylor (NCDPI) shared information about how businesses can work with local Career & Technical Education (CTE) departments at their high schools to provide work-based learning for students, exposing them to the world of work and what your company has to offer. Check out her slides below.

The WIOA panel was staffed with representatives from our three local Workforce Development Boards. Amber Morse (Northeastern WDB) discussed Work Experience (WEX) which allows opportunity for participants and companies to see if the position is a good fit, at no cost to the employer. Lou Stout (Rivers East WDB) focused on On the Job Training (OJT), which subsidizes employee wages while the employer trains the new worker to get them up to speed. Frince Williams (Turning Point WDB, standing in for Carisa Rudd) shared information about the Incumbent Worker Training grants available to businesses for upskilling their employees. All of these programs are available through each of the WDBs, though there are some differences. It is helpful to contact the WDB covering the county where your business is located, but these three WDBs work together very well and will do their best to help you get what you need. Be sure to watch the recording to hear the great examples and information they shared.

Finally, Scott Panagrosso (ApprenticeshipNC) shared information about the Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship opportunities, specifically special funding that can help offset costs for employers. Check out his slides below.

See below to watch the recording, which also includes a Q&A session. We do apologize for the technical difficulties at the beginning of the video, broadband is still a huge issue for NENC. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about this. Feel free to reach out to any of the speakers (their information is located on the contact sheet near the top) or email Brandi Bragg (brandi.bragg@nencpathways.org) for help connecting to the right person. We look forward to future opportunities to connect with you and your business to help build your talent pipelines!