Congressman Larry Kissell (D-NC) announced Tuesday that Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack will be at Richmond Community College on August 17 as part of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet Secretary Rural Listening Tour.
The focus of the stop is rural education.
“This is an important event for Richmond County, the Eighth District and North Carolina,” said Kissell. “A simultaneous visit by two Cabinet secretaries is a testament to the commitment to our rural communities which the President and I share. Their visit will help bring national attention to our struggles with unemployment here at home, and it is my hope they will help me carry our message back to Washington.”
RCC President Dr. Sharon Morrissey said the college is honored to be chosen as a host site and will make the most of the opportunity to promote its Workforce Training Capacity Expansion project.
“Richmond and Scotland Counties have among the highest unemployment rates in North Carolina, and record numbers of displaced workers are turning to Richmond Community College for education and training,” said Morrissey. “We have the opportunity to make a significant economic impact in communities that are truly experiencing a depression. Our goal is to prepare an educated workforce that is focused on science, technology, engineering, and math - workforce skills that are attractive to industry today and that will be in demand by industry tomorrow.”
The Workforce Training Capacity Expansion program focuses on the areas of science, technology, engineering and math while working to increase the rate of workers with a post-secondary education in the Richmond and Scotland County areas. RCC has requested federal funding to expand the facilities to include a Customized Industrial Training Center.
“Our focus must be on providing new job training and educational opportunity to our highly-motivated and dedicated workforce,” said Kissell. “Despite the devastating losses in our manufacturing industry, we have incredibly talented workers in need of the opportunities to put those talents to use.
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