索尔兹伯里,N.C. ——7月30日, 2003, the news spread that Pillowtex had shuttered operations at textile plants in the United States and Canada, 离开近4点,000 residents of Cabarrus and Rowan counties suddenly unemployed and well aware that the region would never be the same.
在接下来的日子里, as workers pondered their futures without the mill that was the hallmark of Kannapolis and the surrounding region, 几乎没有人能看到繁荣的曙光. But a determined regional partnership that still exists today was already looking forward, 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院, 当地政府官员, and 员工发展 agencies collaborating to provide help and hope to those who had lost their jobs.
Although the closure of Pillowtex marked the largest one-day job loss in North Carolina history, the regional response to retrain and re-employ displaced workers became a model for other towns to address mass layoffs.
“学院是, 60年来一直如此, 准备好并有能力回应社区的劳动力发展需求,”医生说。. 卡罗尔年代. 斯伯丁，罗文-卡巴鲁斯公司的总裁. “From helping displaced employees determine their next steps to creating programs to train workers for the specific needs of companies new to our region, one of our top priorities 是在他们所在的地方遇见他们 and prepare them for successful employment.”
20世纪初，坎纳波利斯在坎农磨坊周围形成, many of the town’s residents joined the mill prior to completing a high school diploma or went straight to work at the mill after graduating high school. Others went off to college and returned home to work in supervisory or leadership positions. 人们在一个繁荣的磨坊镇享受着舒适的生活, and even after several company sales – first to billionaire businessman David Murdock, 然后去菲尔德克雷斯特米尔斯, and finally to Pillowtex Corporation – no one wanted to consider a reality in which the mill would not exist as the town’s major employer. Even amid bankruptcy rumors and the looming possibility of layoffs in the months prior, 关闭的消息震惊了整个地区.
“人们都很震惊,卡纳波利斯市长达雷尔·欣南特回忆道, 谁是卡纳波利斯市议会关闭时的新成员. 他们的眼泪从下巴上滴落下来. 一些人倒在人行道上. 他们不知道自己要做什么.”
As community agencies set up sites to assist people with basic living needs, 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院 focused on helping displaced workers with employment services ranging from updating 简历 and learning computer skills to going back to the classroom to earn their high school diplomas.
Rowan-Cabarrus team members worked at satellite offices in Kannapolis to serve thousands of people with varying needs, and the project became the catalyst for what is now the Rowan-Cabarrus R3 (Refocus, 进行再培训, 再就业就业服务中心, 哪家公司还在为求职者提供量身定制的服务. 今天的R3团队为公众提供职业咨询, 简历, 面试, 职业准备证书, 计算机基本原理, 和更多的.
“我们在人们所在的地方见到他们, 帮助他们建立所需的技能，并将他们与雇主联系起来,斯伯丁说. “一旦有公司倒闭或大规模裁员, 我们是应对小组的一员, working closely with partners including the Centralina Workforce Development Board, NCWorks, 当地政府官员, 和其他人. 我们希望这永远不会发生, 但如果是这样, 我们在这里是为了给人们在不确定的时期所需要的希望.”
作为对20的反思th anniversary of Pillowtex and to celebrate the award-winning progress that the Kannapolis area has experienced in the decades since with major companies now in the area such as Amazon and Gordon Food Service, Spalding recently sat down for a recorded conversation with Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant and Jeanie Moore, who was then 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院’s Vice President of 企业 and 继续教育. 观看完整的采访 se065uj.www4247.com/pillowtex-20th/.
“我不敢相信已经20年了，”摩尔说. “We thought it would be a fleeting project, but it became a defining mission for us. 人们改变了对社区菲律宾十大网赌网站的看法.”
然后, 像今天, Rowan-Cabarrus was able to deliver a variety of options for education and job transition from short-term training for positions in healthcare, 制造业及建造业, 到格和英语作为第二语言的教学. 项目 such as welding technology and heating and refrigeration experienced large enrollment increases then and still enjoy popularity among students of all ages today.
“我们尊重我们的历史, I am proud that 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院’s involvement with the Pillowtex response made a positive impact on the health of both the community and the College,摩尔说. “承认我们集体的成功和生存是令人欣慰的.”
The partnership between the community college and the city continued as the mill was demolished and the North Carolina Research Campus was built on its former site. As the city spearheaded revitalization efforts that culminated with the positioning of the Cannon Ballers minor league baseball stadium at the center of a vibrant downtown, Rowan-Cabarrus现在在研究园区有两栋建筑, where it offers high-tech advanced technology and healthcare career education along with a hub for international business training.
“One of the first questions I hear when recruiting businesses to come here is, “你们有工人来填补这些工作吗??’”欣南特说. ”我说, “是的, 我们已经有人准备好去工作了, 如果他们需要培训, 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院将对他们进行培训.如果没有这个答案，我们就不会取得今天的成功.”
罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院’s effective work to retrain former Pillowtex workers earned the College a prestigious Outstanding Workforce Development Provider Award from the U.S. 2005年的劳工部. 这一长期合作关系已经持续了几十年，2019年也将继续, the State Board of Community Colleges awarded the 2019 Distinguished Partner in Excellence Award to 罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院, 卡纳波利斯城, 和城堡 & 库克公司. in recognition of their unique collaboration in support of economic development.
“在罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院, “社区”是我们的中间名, 我们致力于提供具有前瞻性的领导力, 员工发展, 所有人都有受教育的机会,斯伯丁说. “我们从过去吸取教训，展望未来. 我们的使命, 就像20年前一样, 是在他们所在的地方遇见他们, 不管他们的背景或经历如何, 帮助他们实现目标，创造更好的生活.”
To watch the video conversation with Spalding, Hinnant and Moore, please visit http://se065uj.www4247.com/pillowtex-20th/.
有关罗文-卡巴鲁斯社区学院的更多信息，请访问 se065uj.www4247.com 或致电704-216-RCCC (7222).