Randy Burns, Senior Executive Director, Campus Centers Alexander Complex & Regional Workforce Innovation Complex, Catawba Valley Community College

Catawba Valley Community College is expanding workforce training through regional collaboration, new facilities, and programs linked to employer needs. In an interview with Invest:, Senior Executive Director for Campus Centers Alexander Complex & Regional Workforce Innovation Complex Randy Burns discussed the college’s investments in Alexander County, the role of the Dale Earnhardt Regional Innovation Complex, and efforts to strengthen education and apprenticeship pathways. “If we grow together, we excel together, and we move forward together,” said Burns.

How has Catawba Valley Community College’s regional workforce development approach evolved?

In 2017, Catawba Valley Community College and Western Piedmont Community College teamed up and engaged the Friday Institute at North Carolina State University. We went through a two-year process that included town hall meetings in Burke and Catawba counties to develop an initiative called Aligning Educational Efforts.

We examined the three community colleges within our metropolitan statistical area and identified some redundancies. Horticulture is one example. Both Catawba Valley Community College and Western Piedmont Community College were operating programs, but Western Piedmont had newer equipment. The decision was made to close our program and support theirs.

It is about working collaboratively across a metropolitan statistical area that includes Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba counties.

The report from that process came out in March 2020, when COVID-19 also emerged, so some of the first-year objectives were delayed. One thing we identified was that Catawba County was the only one of the four counties that was not part of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Sen. Thom Tillis helped get Catawba County added, which opened grant opportunities for us.

That allowed us to partner with the city of Hickory and the Hickory Aviation Museum to give this work a home. The idea is to develop programs that are economically viable and can help us attract new business or industry.

Individual institutions can have a difficult time bringing something futuristic to fruition. We tend to spend a lot of time maintaining and supporting existing industries, but we needed a catalyst for new opportunities. This new facility provides that. We refer to it as DERIC, the Dale Earnhardt Regional Innovation Complex.

What makes the Regional Innovation Complex’s workforce development model different?

It is on its way to becoming a real public-private partnership. There is an unfinished third floor, and the city of Hickory is looking for a tenant to operate a restaurant there, which would represent the private component.

The museum is seeing between 600 and 700 people each week. Those visitors are exposed to the programs and classes that we offer and intend to offer through the college’s workforce and economic development efforts.

We have a simulation lab that is open and available to the other two community colleges in our region. We have a flight simulator, heavy-equipment simulation, and a strong investment in public safety training. Fire, ambulance, and police personnel can use the technology for situational driver training.

I expect the library of simulations available in that lab to continue to grow.

How is the college addressing workforce needs in Alexander County?

Catawba Valley Community College has taken some huge steps in Alexander County over the past year and a half to two years.

College President Garrett Hinshaw and our Board of Trustees invested $3 million to match an Appalachian Regional Commission grant and purchase equipment for three new labs. These are directly linked to needs in the community. The college also invested $120,000 in renovations to a county-owned building. 

One of our goals is to reach 300 full-time equivalent students. We finished last year at 225. With the help of the Appalachian Regional Commission grant and the college’s matching investment, new equipment is being delivered and installed.

We will have a new HVAC lab, which we have not had in Alexander County. We are expanding our residential and commercial electrical offerings, and we are launching a turfgrass management program in cooperation with Alexander County Schools.

We are also reaching out to incumbent workers to provide upskilling opportunities. We change lives. That is what this is all about.

What areas of technical training are important in Alexander County?

We offer a variety of programs in Alexander County, including certified nursing assistant and phlebotomy classes. We are also expanding some of our labs.

This past year, we developed a new biology lab that allows us to offer Biology 168 and Biology 169, which we had not previously been able to provide there. There is also a continued focus on CNA programming.

One of the biggest challenges Alexander County faces is healthcare because it does not have a hospital. Patients are transported to healthcare providers outside the county.

Helping develop the healthcare infrastructure in Alexander County and doing our part through workforce training is something we are passionate about.

How important are career pathways and stackable credentials?

About two years ago, we went through a process to develop career pathways. In our local high schools, students now have a roadmap showing how Career and College Promise classes relate directly to a certificate, diploma, or associate degree.

Helping people understand that pathway can take away some of the fog and allow them to see that they can do it.

I was a terrible high-school student. Part of the reason was that I did not know what was available to me. If it had not been for an archery class and an angling class, I probably would not have earned enough credits to get out of high school.

It was not until my late 20s that I decided I needed to focus on something that would provide a good living for me and my family. Education became a passion, and I was able to direct my time and talent toward it.

What are your priorities for the Regional Innovation Complex?

I am a regionally minded person. If a company or startup in Arizona is looking to relocate, it does not usually look only at Alexander, Burke, or Caldwell County. More often than not, it looks at the strength and opportunity within our metropolitan statistical area.

If we grow together, we excel together, and we move forward together.

For the Dale Earnhardt Regional Innovation Complex, I want it to continue serving as a hub for new innovation. The three community colleges in our region can partner to develop programming that may eventually live at one or more of the individual colleges, depending on the need.

We can then continue developing the next new opportunity at the Innovation Complex.

What role do apprenticeship programs play in the college’s workforce strategy?

Apprenticeship programs allow students to receive an education while they are connected with and working for a company. The company can build a relationship with the student before graduation. The company knows what it is getting, and the student knows what they are getting into.

I have been a strong advocate for expanding apprenticeship eligibility. Under the current rules, a high-school student who participates in a pre-apprenticeship has 120 days after graduation to enter a registered apprenticeship and receive state tuition waivers.

If a student is not a pre-apprentice, that eligibility is lost on graduation day. Many people do not understand that. Someone may hear about an apprenticeship three or four weeks after graduation, or a year later, and realize the tuition-waiver opportunity is no longer available.

I have been asking the state legislature to address that issue. I also serve on the board of directors for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, where we developed a legislative goal to align tuition waivers for community college apprenticeship programs with the opportunity-youth demographic.

That change could allow a student to take advantage of a registered apprenticeship program in North Carolina until the student’s 25th birthday. That is high on my wish list.