DOBSON — Surry-Yadkin IMPACT, a local educational attainment collaborative, is hosting community outreach meetings at Surry Community College in April.
The effort is part of the ncIMPACT Initiative (ncIMPACT), a statewide effort launched by the UNC School of Government in 2017 to help local communities use data and evidence to improve conditions and inform decision making.
Community leaders are invited to engage in a conversion around the collaborative vision “to actively engage and unify our community, education, and business partners in order to educate and invest in the development of a well-prepared workforce. Through our commitment to resolving transportation issues and other equity gaps and barriers to achievement, we strive to award 2,210 additional credentials to Surry and Yadkin citizens by 2030,” the college said of the project.
“These community meetings will focus on how to reach this goal, one step at a time. We hope business leaders, faith-based leaders, members of civic clubs and anyone with a community-minded spirit will attend,” said Dr. Candace Holder, chief academic officer, Surry Community College. “We will discuss closing the educational attainment gap as outlined by the myFutureNC initiative and ways we can connect with citizens to move one step closer toward accomplishing Surry-Yadkin’s IMPACT’s goal of removing barriers so all citizens can achieve career and economic stability.”
The meetings will be held on April 14 and April 21 with a makeup day planned on April 27 at Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College, at 630 S. Main St. in Dobson.
The agenda for all three meetings will consist of a 15-minute presentation of the purpose and overview of Surry-Yadkin IMPACT along with time to discuss the problems and opportunities in the local community following by action planning and commitments. Participants will learn about workforce credential options, funding opportunities, current local job needs, and general educational and workforce attainment goal. The meetings will conclude with lunch and a recap of the day’s discussion.
Participants can register for the April 14 meeting at bit.ly/SurryYadkinImpact and for the April 21 meeting at bit.ly/SurryYadkinImpact2. Anyone with questions should contact Dr. Candace Holder at 336-386-3382 or holderc@surry.edu.
Surry-Yadkin IMPACT is a result the UNC School of Government’s ncIMPACT Initiative, which announced in June 2022 the selection of 15 community collaboratives to an inaugural cohort working to better align their education systems with the needs of their regional economy, in partnership with myFutureNC.
This two-year project will position the cohort to significantly increase the number of individuals with postsecondary degrees, credentials, or certificates of value in the workforce. It aligns with the state’s legislative goal of 2 million individuals between the ages of 25-44 who possess a high-quality credential or postsecondary degree by 2030. Funding was provided by the John M. Belk Endowment, Dogwood Health Trust and UNC Rural.
Surry Community College was among the 15 chosen collaboratives. SCC officials will work closely with Surry County, Yadkin County, Surry-Yadkin Works, Piedmont-Triad Regional Council, NC Works Career Center of Surry and Yadkin counties, and Surry and Yadkin Economic Development Partnerships in this initiative.
“These collaboratives offer an organized way to respond to future of work challenges that no single institution or even an entire sector can effectively tackle,” said Anita Brown-Graham, UNC-Chapel Hill professor and director of the ncIMPACT Initiative. “We are eager to begin this important work together.”
Surry-Yadkin IMPACT was selected from 46 applications spanning 82 counties in North Carolina. The selection committee sought to deliver a cohort with regional, economic, and demographic diversity; demonstrated community commitment; prior experience with educational attainment efforts; and identified barriers to educational attainment in the community. The ncIMPACT Initiative will manage this first cohort of collaboratives. myFutureNC will leverage the model developed through this cohort to identify and support additional collaboratives moving forward. Communities interested in updates and resources offered during this two-year project may visit: bit.ly/LEAC-project.
“Building a strong talent pipeline will require a new level of cross-sector coordination,” said Cecilia Holden, president of myFutureNC. “Among others, key strategic partners in these collaboratives must include PreK-12, universities, community colleges, workforce development boards, economic developers, chambers of commerce, county commissioners, policymakers, and civic leaders. And most critical to the overall success is ensuring decisions are being made based on data and research, and the voice of communities, businesses, industries, and employers is in the center of these important conversations.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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