Two more businesses will grow their own employees through the Wayne County Consortium for Maintenance Technician Apprentices.
Butterball and Coker Feed Mill have joined the program provided by Apprenticeship Wayne at Wayne Community College. It works with local employers to customize classroom training to meet their needs and supplement work-based learning. The collaborative effort enables employers to train employees to fill specific roles.
“Apprenticeships are very important, not only to the college and industry, but to the United States,” said WCC President Patty Pfeiffer. “They are a proven model and an industry-driven model that prepares our next workforce.”
“To our industry partners that are here today, thank you for believing in these apprentices. Thank you for believing in apprenticeships and trusting Wayne Community College to educate your employees. I hope the benefit back to your industry is tenfold or more,” she said.
“The work of apprenticeship is not easy, but it is worth it. Over the next three years you will attend school while working and managing a family and all other personal obligations that come with life,” said Director of Apprenticeships Kristie Sauls, who vowed to the new group that “we are here to support you each step of the way.”
The apprentices will attend class one day a week while continuing to work. Upon completing the program, they will receive an associate in applied science degree in Industrial Systems Technology and Journeyman certificates from ApprenticeshipNC and the United States Department of Labor.
The new apprentices are Jaleica Moore of Goldsboro and Bryson Rhodes of Newton Grove with Butterball and Matthew Varga of Kinston with Coker Feed Mill.
The other companies in the consortium are Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Franklin Baking Company, Prolec-GE Waukesha and the County of Wayne.
Linamar Forgings Carolina, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, North Carolina Manufacturing, Prolec-GE Waukesha and Smithfield Foods are also currently engaged in apprenticeships with WCC.
Apprenticeship Wayne now serves 40 industrial systems apprentices, six swine management apprentices, and one computer numerical control (CNC) machining apprentice.
WCC’s program has been recognized on the state and national level. In 2021, WCC apprenticeship partner Smithfield Foods was named ApprenticeshipNC’s Outstanding Registered Apprenticeship Employer. This year, WCC was recognized as a finalist for a Bellwether Award, a national citation that recognizes community colleges’ best practices, for its submission titled “Apprenticeships: An Integrated Academic Cohort Model.”
To learn more, go to the Apprenticeship Wayne website or contact Sauls by email ori919-739-7063.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 10,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 165 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.