Governor Josh Stein visited Roanoke-Chowan Community College in Hertford County, North Carolina, on October 20 to spotlight its Weld to Work Pipeline. A $470,140 Southeast Crescent Regional Commission grant awarded in 2024 is funding facility renovations, new equipment, a full-time instructor, and tuition assistance, serving residents of Hertford, Bertie, and Northampton counties.
The program can serve up to 150 welding students a year. Over two years it aims to enroll 300 students and help 270 graduates land welding jobs. That is a 90% placement target, stated in public.
The part worth copying is the employer list. Training is aligned with US Forged Rings, Nucor Steel, and Newport News Shipbuilding. Three named employers, waiting at the end of the pipeline, before the first student enrolls.
The October news is the governor's spotlight visit, not new money: the grant dates to 2024. That does not weaken the lesson. It strengthens it. A two year old grant is still producing a pipeline because the employer commitments came first.
If your school cannot name the employers hiring your graduates, you do not have a program. You have a brochure. Go get the names first, then build the program around them.
The bottom line: named employers beat grant announcements. Every time.
Source: North Carolina Governor's press release, October 20, 2026.