The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 237000 workers in North Carolina lost jobs in the textiles sector alone between 1995 and 2007. Hundreds of thousands more lost jobs in other manufacturing industries such as apparel and furniture. These workers were often middle-aged and relatively uneducated, and thus were not prime prospects for immediate re-employment.

An example: the Pillowtex Corporation of Kannapolis, NC declared bankruptcy on 30 July 2003 and closed all its plants. Over 4300 employees in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties lost their jobs. Some characteristics of these newly unemployed individuals:

• 40-50 percent had not completed high school.
• mean age of those unemployed: 46 years.
• average tenure at Pillowtex: 17 years
• 93 percent could not afford health insurance

The community college system became the conduit for retraining these workers and other workers like them in related industries. From GED classes to vocational training, the community colleges offered the promise of a new start for those thrown out of work.

• Community Response to the Pillowtex Textile Kannapolis Closing: Beatty, Longman and Tran, 2004.
• Workforce Investment Act Non-experimental Net Impact Evaluation: Impaq International, December 2008
• The Impact of Community College Retraining on Older Displaced Workers: Should We Teach Old Dogs New Tricks? Jacobson, LaLonde and Sullivan, 2004.
• Subcommittee Examines Role of Community Colleges in 21st Century Competitiveness: Science and Technology Committee, US House of Representatives, 2007.
• Job Retraining may fall short of high hopes: New York Times, 9 July 2009, Michael Luo

1. What are the salient characteristics of workers losing jobs in manufacturing in recent years?
2. What are the government programs in place to assist these workers in their transition to new jobs?
3. How effective is community-college training in preparing these workers for new employment? Is there a difference in re-employment rates between those who attend community college and those who do not? (If so, why might this be? If not, why not?)

Lenoir Community College (in Lenoir County) has just introduced a new certification program in Aerospace Manufacturing and Repair. It is designing the program in conjunction with Spirit Aerosystems, an airliner contractor with a plant under construction at the Global Transpark in Kinston.

1. What lessons from other community-college retraining programs should Lenoir Community College keep in mind in structuring this certification?
2. In what ways are those participating in this certification program different from the displaced workers typically in vocational training at community college?
3. What are the key building blocks you would include in this certification program?