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GTCC, NC community colleges to boost aviation programming ahead of JetZero job creation

JetZero Plane
Courtesy JetZero

JetZero announced plans earlier this month to build a manufacturing plant in Greensboro and create thousands of jobs over the next 10 years.

The North Carolina Community College System has signed on to partner with JetZero to lead a workforce training program.

One of the key players involved is Guilford Technical Community College, which already offers several aviation technology and manufacturing programs.

GTCC President Anthony Clarke says the school is working with others in the Triad to help them start their own aviation programs, too.

“Of course, you know, we're talking, two, three, four years out, as far as needing the technical workforce, but, you know, having those conversations now so that those colleges can make the decision that makes the best sense for them to support JetZero within their own communities,” Clarke says.

GTCC will also be working with JetZero to align curriculum with some of the company's training needs.

"We have a Composite Technology program at our college, but it's not of the size or complexity that's needed for what JetZero is going to do," Clarke says. "So we'll have to work with them to understand what processes they're using, how we can train the technicians so they can go ahead and work on the production line and in the production environment at JetZero."

GTCC is also breaking ground this summer on a 70,000-square-foot aviation training facility in Colfax, which will help them serve more students.

Amy Diaz began covering education in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and High Country for WFDD in partnership with Report For America in 2022. Before entering the world of public radio, she worked as a local government reporter in Flint, Mich. where she was named the 2021 Rookie Writer of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. Diaz is originally from Florida, where she interned at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and freelanced for the Tampa Bay Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, but truly got her start in the field in elementary school writing scripts for the morning news. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.

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