Local officials, manufacturers launch new job training program

On Wednesday, representatives from the school system, local manufacturing companies and the N.C. Department of Commerce signed their names to a new program that will help young folks find good careers in McDowell County. A signing ceremony was held for the McDowell County School Pre-Apprenticeship program at the Universal Advanced Manufacturing Center on the campus of McDowell Technical Community College. Pre-Apprenticeship is a job training program that allows participants to explore an industry before they decide to join it. "Unlike apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship gives participants the choice of either learning in the classroom, gaining on-the-job experience, or pursuing both at the same time. Participants also earn credit that can carry over to apprenticeship training in the same field (similar to how students can earn AP credit for college courses while still in high school)," reads the Website for NC Works of the N.C. Department of Commerce.