Governor Josh Stein joined Guilford Technical Community College Wednesday for the groundbreaking of its new $34.6 million Cameron training center. The move comes as the region prepares for the arrival of several aviation companies at nearby Piedmont Triad International Airport.
The new 70,000-square-foot building will expand the college’s current facilities and eventually house programs including aviation manufacturing and assembly.
The project received funding from Guilford County and the state. Speaking at the event, Governor Josh Stein called it an investment in the young people of North Carolina.
"North Carolina was first in flight," says Stein. "We are also the future of flight, and these students who go through this building in the next couple of years are going to be the ones who power that future."
The building is slated to open in the Spring of 2027. A second building will be added to the campus during the next phase of development at an estimated cost of $60 million, enabling GTCC to train more than 1,000 aviation and aerospace manufacturing students each year.
At a press conference following the event, Stein shifted his focus to national politics. When asked about the federal shutdown and its impact on North Carolinians, he was quick to respond.
"We're worried about SNAP benefits," he says. "We're worried about relief in western North Carolina. It's urgent that the federal government come together to make sure that we extend these tax credits so people's health insurance rates don't skyrocket, and to open the government."
And when asked about the North Carolina GOP plan to redraw the Congressional map to pick up an additional seat, Stein said voters choose representatives, and representatives should not choose voters.
"Understand, they redistricted in the 2022 cycle, redistricted in the '24 cycle," says Stein. "Now they're redistricting in the '26 cycle. Is it that every time they lose an election, they're going to draw a district so they win the next time? That is not how it's supposed to work."
In a statement, state GOP Senate Leader Phil Berger said, "We are doing everything we can to protect President Trump's agenda, which means safeguarding Republican control of Congress."