Skilled Grant Application Entries

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Mitchell Community College’s grant aims to renovate spaces for centralized engineering and industrial skilled trades labs to enhance career skills for our community and regional workforce. In collaboration with Iredell-Statesville Schools (ISS), Mooresville Graded School District, and the Iredell County Economic Development Corporation (ICEDC), Mitchell Community College has aligned its strategic plan with ICEDC’s Iredell Ready Initiative, NC Department of Public Instruction’s Portrait of a Graduate, NC Community College System’s Strategic Plan, and myFuture NC’s goal to ensure that 2 million North Carolinians have high-quality credentials or postsecondary degrees by 2030.

The renovation of the ISS campus at the Career Academy and Technical School (CATS) will provide all learners in Iredell County with high-quality engineering and industrial skilled trades experiences, including industrial maintenance, certified maintenance and reliability, mechatronics, mechanical engineering, industrial electricity and electronics, and HVAC-R programs. ISS will complete the infrastructure renovation, Mitchell Community College will provide the lab equipment, and each organization will share the cost of instruction. The overall scope of the project will occur over three phases:

•Phase One: Construction of welding, carpentry, and masonry labs. The welding lab will feature 20 stations for Stick, MIG, TIG, and Cutting processes and a fabrication area for innovative industrial solutions. The College will use the American Welding Society (AWS) SENSE curriculum, which prepares students for AWS welding certifications, and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) curriculum for carpentry and masonry, which leads to national portable credentials in construction trades.
•Phase Two: Construction of engineering science labs for mechatronics, automation, hydraulics and pneumatics, PLCs, robotics, design and prototyping, manual and CNC machining, and maintenance procedures. These labs will allow students to design, troubleshoot, and perform preventive maintenance on mechanical systems and design, prototype, and manufacture engineering objects using manual and precision CNC machining. The College plans to align automation and robotics training around Universal Robotics and FANUC, the national robotics leaders in North America, providing certification on both types of robots. Furthermore, the College uses AutoCAD and Inventor for computer-aided drafting and SolidWorks for parametric modeling, and students can earn Autodesk Certified User certifications in AutoCAD, Inventor, and the Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA). Moreover, students can earn many National Institute of Metalworking Skills certifications in manual and CNC machining.
•Phase Three (July 2026): Construction of electrical and HVAC-R labs for hands-on learning in electrical systems, residential, commercial, and industrial wiring, HVAC-R installations, preventative maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Our region faces a shortage of high-quality engineering and skilled trades professionals because of business growth and an aging population. This project addresses this gap by providing the labor force with qualified candidates to meet workforce demands. In 2023, North Carolina ranked first in economic development for three consecutive years due to its prepared workforce, quality of life, infrastructure, and commitment to education (N.C. Department of Commerce, 2023). Iredell County has reaped the benefit of N.C. being ranked number one for economic development over the past three years, as it is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state (N.C. Office of State Budget and Management, n.d.) and number one in the Charlotte Metro area and sixth in N.C. in economic growth because of the in-migration of individuals into the county (ICEDC, 2023).

However, Iredell County and its region are challenged to meet business and industry hiring demands. The Iredell region, encompassing 15 counties, saw a 4% increase in the grant’s targeted career sectors from 2022 to 2024, surpassing the national growth of 3%. These jobs offer median earnings of $56,000 annually, with 11,046 annual openings (Lightcast, 2024). The sustainable living wage in Iredell County is $22.00 per hour, making many of these industry careers viable for supporting a decent standard of living (Glasmeier, 2024).
Yet, hiring remains challenging, with three job postings per applicant (Lightcast, 2024).

Student interest in engineering and industrial skilled trades careers is low, exacerbating the issue. In 2023, ten higher education institutions in the Iredell region offered seven relevant programs, resulting in 407 completions. Of the 407 completions, 349 (85.7%) came from Public, two-year institutions. Despite this, the region’s institutions cannot fulfill even one month of the 2023 average monthly hiring demand of 5,298 positions in the targeted career sectors (Lightcast, 2024).

Therefore, a new solution has been developed to address workforce demand and sustain Iredell County’s growth. This solution involves a collaborative effort between all educational organizations in Iredell County and the IEDC to provide streamlined engineering and skilled trades pathways. This centralized approach will offer a scale of efficiency that meets industry standards, which no single organization can achieve alone.

The lack of student interest in engineering and industrial skilled trades programs significantly reduces the number of students entering the workforce in these critical areas. Additionally, institutions struggle with insufficient funding for new, industry-standard equipment and face challenges in recruiting skilled instructors, as many professionals are reluctant to leave their positions in business and industry to teach.

Of the 349 completions by Public, two-year colleges, Mitchell Community College represents 17 completions (4.2%) of the engineering and industrial skilled trades market share. Iredell-Statesville Schools (ISS) offers advanced manufacturing, drafting, electronics, woodworking, and welding courses. Mooresville Graded School District also offers advanced manufacturing, carpentry, drafting, electronics, metals manufacturing, HVAC-R, and electrical trades. While all three organizations offer similar pathways to skill trades careers, we all have low enrollment in each program and struggle to keep our equipment to the current industry standard. Instead of trying to manage three of the same programs, it makes sense for us to look at scales of economy to gain efficiency in program delivery.

The desired change resulting from this project is more efficiency in delivering engineering and industrial skilled trades programs, leading more qualified individuals to enter the workforce or finish their certification, degree, or diploma at a community college.

Phase One (July 2024 – July 2025): ISS has already approved this phase.
• Renovate area for welding, carpentry, and masonry classrooms and labs.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
• Implement new carpentry and masonry certificates leading to NCCER credentialing beginning in fall 2025.
• Hire new AWS certified instructor(s) to teach in fall 2025.
• Implement new AWS Sense welding programs leading the AWS credentialing beginning in fall 2025.
• Investigate the process of credentialing the welding as an AWS testing facility.
Phase Two (July 2025 – July 2026):
• Renovate an area for the mechatronics, automation, and robotics classroom and lab.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
• Renovate an area for a PLC classroom and lab.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
• Renovate an area for the hydraulics and pneumatics classroom and lab.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
• Renovate as an area for the design and prototyping classroom and lab.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
Implement Autodesk Certified User certifications in AutoCAD, Inventor, and the Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) in courses.
• Renovate an area for the manual and CNC machining classroom and lab.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
Implement National Institute of Metalworking Skills certifications in manual and CNC machining.
Credential the machining lab by NIMS.
Phase Three (July 2026 – July 2027):
• Renovate building for electrical systems and HVAC-R classrooms and labs.
Acquisition and install all necessary equipment in the learning environments and labs.
Investigate implementing electrical and HVAC-R certificates leading to NCCER credentialing beginning in fall 2027.

The College’s marketing and communications department will create a communication plan to promote the project and acknowledge DENSO's support in increasing the number of individuals entering engineering and industrial skilled trades careers. The College will collaborate with high school partners to recruit students, promote the project’s benefits to parents and guardians, and educate high school career development counselors and middle school career counselors about the opportunities in engineering and industrial skilled trades.

•Completion of the renovated and equipped space for the engineering and industrial skilled trades labs by ISS and Mitchell Community College.
•An increase in student interest in the engineering and industrial skilled trades programs as evidenced by enrollment (number of students and percent change).
•An increase in the diversity of students entering engineering and industrial skilled trades programs as evidenced by enrollment demographics (number of students and percent change by demographic characteristics).\
An increase in the fall-to-fall retention rate of students enrolled in the engineering and industrial skilled trades programs (number of students and percent change).
•An increase in students completing engineering and industrial skilled trades credentials, certificates, degrees, or diplomas from ISS, MGSD, and Mitchell Community College (number of students and percent change).
•An increase in the diversity of students completing engineering and industrial skilled trades credentials, certificates, degrees, or diplomas from ISS, MGSD, and Mitchell Community College (number of students and percent change by demographic characteristics).
•An increase in the number of credentials each student earns (duplicated number and percent change).
•An increase in the number of students entering the workforce and/or continuing their credentials, certificates, degrees, or diplomas at a community college (number of students and percent change).

•Completion of the renovated and equipped space for the engineering and industrial skilled trades labs by ISS and Mitchell Community College.
•An increase in student interest in the engineering and industrial skilled trades programs as evidenced by enrollment (number of students and percent change).
•An increase in the diversity of students entering engineering and industrial skilled trades programs as evidenced by enrollment demographics (number of students and percent change by demographic characteristics).
•An increase in the fall-to-fall retention rate of students enrolled in the engineering and industrial skilled trades programs (number of students and percent change).
•An increase in students completing engineering and industrial skilled trades credentials, certificates, degrees, or diplomas from ISS, MGSD, and Mitchell Community College (number of students and percent change).
• An increase in the diversity of students completing engineering and industrial skilled trades credentials, certificates, degrees, or diplomas from ISS, MGSD, and Mitchell Community College (number of students and percent change by demographic characteristics).
•An increase in the number of credentials each student earns (duplicated number and percent change).
•An increase in the number of students entering the workforce and/or continuing their credentials, certificates, degrees, or diplomas at a community college (number of students and percent change).

While not in a funding capacity, we have an NC Edge Customized Training Program with DENSO. This three-year program, worth $409,237, supports job growth as DENSO adds 193 jobs.

We have not received funding from the DENSO Foundation.

• I acknowledge if selected as a grant recipient, my institution has 5 business days to sign and return the Grant Agreement and provide electronic financial banking information to DENSO North America Foundation.