Today, Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt addressed Western North Carolina leaders at the Vision Northwest North Carolina Conference in Boone including local officials and business leaders. During her remarks, she highlighted the importance of investing in workforce development through community colleges and fighting the child care crisis as part of her Future-Ready Agenda.
“As Western North Carolina works to rebuild from Hurricane Helene, we have an opportunity to build an even stronger future for our neighbors by making meaningful investments in these communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt. “We need our people to be trained for the jobs of today and tomorrow and they need to have reliable, affordable child care so they can go to work. That means investing in workforce development through community colleges and finding solutions to the child care crisis, so our state and our mountains can be Future-Ready.”
"We live in a region of the state where our business and industry partners are supported by educators who are providing degrees, certificates, and credentials that match our workforce needs,” said Boone Chamber of Commerce President David Jackson. “Vision Northwest North Carolina aims to bring more visibility to these programs and relationships, and the regular dialogue that ensures the training that is offered is leading to an attainable and relevant credential. These intentional steps are important in both satisfying our labor needs and creating the type of wage and career growth that will help people deepen their roots and truly thrive in this region.”
After the conference, the Lieutenant Governor visited Mast General Store in downtown Boone before touring the new site for Western Youth Network’s new Youth Center. Western Youth Network supports Northwest North Carolina through after-school programs, mentorships, summer camps, and more. Western Youth Network was formed in 1985 through then Governor Jim Hunt’s One-on-One Grant for youth mentoring programs.
"We are so honored that Lieutenant Governor Hunt took the time to learn more about the Western Youth Network's services, which provide students with the relationships, stability, and skills they need to be successful in school, in the workforce, and beyond," said Western Youth Network Executive Director Jennifer Warren. "One of the projects she saw is the construction of Watauga County's only youth center, the "Building Brighter Futures" project, which will help meet the substantial demand for school-aged childcare in the out-of-school times in the NC High Country. WYN's 40-year history has proven that our method is an effective one, and we cannot wait to expand so that even more students can experience the benefits that being involved with our agency brings. We appreciate Lieutenant Governor Hunt's emphasis on programs such as ours, which strengthen and shape the future of North Carolinians."
Lieutenant Governor Hunt's policy agenda, Future-Ready North Carolina, champions the alignment of education with workforce development - from investments in child care and early childhood education to career ready programs - especially those offered through our community colleges.
Read more about Lieutenant Governor Hunt’s Future-Ready Plan here.
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