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At its November Board meeting, the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors awarded over $4.2 million to address some of North Carolina's urgent workforce needs in the aerospace industry through its Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work in Aerospace Manufacturing (GLOW-AM) Initiative.
"The Golden LEAF Board of Directors established the GLOW-AM Initiative to connect the aerospace industry's workforce needs with viable and sustainable job opportunities for North Carolinians," said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF president. "The Foundation is interested in building the talent, knowledge and skill of citizens, especially in tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and rural communities, to take full advantage of available job opportunities like those in the aerospace industry."
Recently, Golden LEAF provided support to the North Carolina's Eastern Region to complete a statewide workforce needs assessment for the emerging aerospace industry in North Carolina. In response to the findings, the Foundation created the GLOW-AM initiative and requested proposals from training providers that address the workforce development challenges identified in the report. The projects funded in the Initiative are designed to strengthen training capacities in regions of the state that have high concentrations of aerospace manufacturing companies and maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
South Piedmont Community College has been granted $575,000 for implementing the Aerospace and Precision Manufacturing Project, which will incorporate modules specific to the aerospace industry and provide technical training in integrated systems technology /mechatronics and machining. Funds will be used for personnel and equipment for the integrated systems and Programmable Logic Controller training. Area industry has identified this as an immediate need.
"The State has supported Monroe as we have grown our aerospace base, to where today, Monroe has the highest geographic concentration of aerospace companies in the State of North Carolina," stated Chris Platé, Executive Director of Economic Development and Aviation. "We are glad the Golden Leaf placed a significant investment here to help us sustain and grow our local aerospace workforce."
About the Golden LEAF Foundation:
The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to help transform North Carolina's economy. The foundation receives one-half of North Carolina's funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers and places special emphasis on assisting tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and/or rural communities across the state. The Golden LEAF Foundation works in partnership with governmental entities, educational institutions, economic development organizations and nonprofits to achieve its mission. The foundation has awarded 847 grants totaling more than $399 million since its inception. For more information, or to learn more about applying for a grant, visit www.goldenleaf.org or call (888) 684-8404.
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