Charlotte Works Celebrates 20 Years & Issues a Challenge
On January 31, Charlotte Works celebrated 20 years of workforce coordination, collaboration, and job training in the Charlotte Mecklenburg area. Staff and the Board of Directors held a 20 th Anniversary Reception at the Foundation For The Carolinas with nearly 100 attendees including city officials and community partners.

As we embark on our 20 th year of service, over the next 30 days, we are challenging you to engage meaningfully with us in 2019. You can start by clicking on this link and simply filling out the contact form on our new 20 Year Challenge webpage .

Please feel free to send the link to individuals and organizations in your network that may also want to engage with us in 2019. 


Charlotte Works & Partners Awarded $100000 Grant for Data Driven Strategy
Charlotte Works in collaboration with Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte was awarded a $100,000 grant from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to support efforts to connect people with the skills they need get good paying jobs. Governor Cooper made the announcement at the North Carolina Research Campus location of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College on February 26. The Comprehensive Workforce and Education Data Project will use the grant to better use data from multiple sources to understand the region’s workforce needs, education and training resources, and challenges. The goals are to identify areas of opportunity, target under-served and under-resourced populations, and to develop a plan to increase access to and completion of training. The grant was one of six awarded and will be funded by the Division of Workforce Solutions within the NC Department of Commerce. “Building a job ready North Carolina requires creativity and collaboration among employers, educators, and communities across our state,” Governor Cooper said. “These grants will enable innovative partnerships to help workers improve their job skills through opportunities like customized training, apprenticeships and work-based learning so they can be ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”
DACA student seizes opportunity for pre-apprenticeship and full scholarship
Deciding on a career pathway before graduating high school can be one of the greatest challenges in the minds of high school seniors. MeckEd student Aaron Nguyen graduated from Independence High School in 2018, but before he walked across the stage, he was already set on his career goal; to become an auto mechanic. “It was always in my blood since I was younger. It started with the Fast and Furious movies. I just really liked cars and thought they would be interesting to learn. It sparked my interest on how a car works, or what it looks like, and what makes it run? I just wanted to know how to do stuff and really work on the car and build a car,” Nguyen said.