Wilkes County is rapidly gaining the reputation for being North Carolina’s “Opportunity Corridor,” and with good reason. Local and county governments have virtually re-defined “business friendly,” through their commitment to partner with businesses on a variety of projects, including entrepreneurial start-ups, existing business promotion and expansions, and new business development projects.

It’s no wonder that Wilkes County is the home to such companies as Lowe’s Home Improvement, East Coast Millwork Distributors, Gardner Glass, and Tyson Food’s largest poultry processing facility.

Business in Wilkes County benefit from a variety of support and training resources. Among those resources are the Small Business Center and Customized Industry Training programs at Wilkes Community College.

Customized Industrial Training (CIT) programs can provide customized training and services for existing manufacturing industries to help them become more productive and more competitive. CIT programs are designed to assist industries with training needs assessment, assist in the development of company or industry specific plans for training and also to provide training for incumbent workers. CIT training is directed toward workers who need to up-date their skills and technical knowledge because of technological changes. Companies that manufacture products and/or process industrial materials are eligible for customized industrial training and services. These services focus on specific training needs which may require small classes that cannot be conducted with regular program funds. The program is directed towards skilled and semi-skilled production workers, industrial maintenance workers, and leaders of personnel who perform industrial processes. Previous customized training programs have consisted of OSHA safety training, PLC troubleshooting, ISO 9000, leadership skills, and many others.

For more information on how the FIT program can help your industry, contact Jeff Shore, Director of Focused Industrial Training, at 336.838.6206 or e-mail at shorej@wilkes.cc.nc.us