������

Edgecombe Students Complete Clean Vehicle Pre-Apprenticeship

Nine Edgecombe Early College High School students completed STEPs4GROWTH (S4G), a clean energy workforce development program, at ������ this summer. Shown from left are Johanna Reyes Lopez; Zander Harrison; Yari Leyva-Sabalza; Jorge Ayala-Nunez; Rhonda High, S4G regional coordinator; Weiland Smith; Dr. Balakrishna “Balu” Gokaraju, S4G principal investigator; Dr. Gregory McLeod, ������ president; Darryl Strother, energy resources operation manager for the City of Rocky Mount; Paige Webb Ashman, S4G student support specialist at ������; Selwyn Spence, occupational extension programs administrator at ������; Molly Turner; Ava Cherry; and Kyla McLeod.

Edgecombe high school students met for eight weeks at ������ this summer to learn about clean energy through the STEPs4GROWTH: EV Pre-Apprenticeship Program.

Nine Edgecombe Early College High School students completed the program that met on the Tarboro campus of ������.

STEPs4GROWTH is a clean energy workforce development project funded by a grant from the US Department of Commerce and led by NC A&T State University.

With the clean energy industry continuing to expand, demand is growing for workers with specialized skills and training. STEPs4GROWTH focuses on four clean energy sectors: energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean vehicles, and grid and resiliency.

The program held at ������ focused on clean vehicles. Students earned certifications in OSHA 10, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Working Smart, and Pre-Apprenticeship through ApprenticeshipNC. Students also received a weekly stipend.

According to Paige Ashman, STEPs4GROWTH student support specialist at ������, “Our students completed 96 hours of EV-related coursework as well as 80 hours of on-the-job training. During their 176 hours of instruction, they assisted the City of Rocky Mount with the installation of a charging station on ������’s Rocky Mount campus, received hands-on training in the electrical field, gained in-depth instruction on electric vehicles and their charging methods, test drove electric-powered go-karts, attended a Tesla car show, and built their own mini-EV remote control car.

“I am extremely proud of them for the commitment and hard work they put into this program and can say with confidence that they learned a tremendous amount about the clean vehicle industry.”

“������ is pleased to be a partner in the STEPs4GROWTH program,” says ������ President Dr. Greg McLeod. “The initiative’s focus on job training in the clean energy sector is critical to preparing a highly skilled clean energy workforce of the future.”