North Carolina launches summer electrical academies at 12 community colleges
RALEIGH — North Carolina is launching 12 summer electrical academies at community colleges across the state, a workforce development effort aimed at preparing students for electrical careers through college coursework, credentials and pre-apprenticeships.
The North Carolina Business Committee for Education announced the academies Thursday through the Careers Electric initiative, which is supported by the Siemens Foundation. The summer academies are expected to train 220 students in 2026.
The program follows a February announcement by Gov. Josh Stein and the Siemens Foundation to train 25,000 North Carolinians for electrical careers over 10 years. According to the governor’s office, the Siemens Foundation has committed $9.5 million to the Careers Electric initiative.
Each academy will pair a community college with one or more local school districts. Employer partners will serve as work-based learning hosts and pre-apprenticeship sponsors. Students will take one or two community college electrical courses for college credit, earn industry-valued credentials, complete hands-on work experiences and finish a registered pre-apprenticeship.
Students who complete the program will be positioned to move into registered electrical apprenticeships, entry-level employment or further education toward a certificate or associate degree in electrical systems technology, according to the announcement.
The state said each participating student will receive a $2,000 completion stipend. The program also includes career coaching, financial literacy instruction, employability skills training and required instructional materials at no cost to students.
The 12 academies will be hosted through partnerships involving Blue Ridge, Central Carolina, Central Piedmont, Cleveland, Forsyth Technical, Isothermal, Pitt, Rockingham, Surry, Vance-Granville, Wake Technical and Wayne community colleges.
The governor’s office said state labor market data project electrician employment in North Carolina to grow from about 25,800 workers to more than 28,500 from 2024 to 2034. The announcement also said North Carolina supports more than 70,000 jobs in occupations requiring electrical knowledge, including power-line installation, telecommunications, electrical engineering and electronics repair.
Officials said the academies are intended to respond to workforce demand in skilled trades and electrical fields as older workers retire and employers seek trained workers.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
