December 2017
Your monthly news & updates
Photos courtesy Jared Kay
Happy Holidays from Mountain Area Workforce Development Board! We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season. Our region has been blessed this past year with significant job growth along with many new workforce opportunities. We sincerely thank our region's amazing team of employers, educators, elected officials, workforce partners and workforce professionals for the progress we have made during 2017.
Mountain Area Workforce Development Board honors Tim Lampkin

The Mountain Workforce Development Board recently honored Tim Lampkin, Director of Business Retention & Expansion with the Economic Development Coalition (EDC) of Asheville-Buncombe County. Tim served as a member of the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board for many years. We thank him for dedicated his service on the Board and for his support of workforce development in our region. We wish Tim all the best during his retirement.
Clark Duncan with the Asheville Chamber/EDC, Tim Lampkin, Nathan Ramsey and Barbara Darby with Mountain Area Workforce Development Board and Kevin Kimrey with AB Tech.
Employers register NOW for the 2018 Annual Career Fair

Western North Carolina's largest career fair, hosted by the Economic Development Coalition (EDC) of Asheville-Buncombe County and the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, will be on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at the WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher, NC 28732. Traditionally thousands of job seekers turnout out for this event. There is still an opportunity for employers to reserve a booth to promote your job opportunities. Please register soon since their is limited space availability for employers. No registration is required by job seekers. Mountain Area Workforce Development Board is a partner sponsor of this career fair.
Rodney Embler and Ellen Westbrook with the NCWorks Career Center Asheville at the 2017 Annual Job Fair
NCWorks Mobile Unit will be on site for the Career Fair
WNC Agricultural Center Davis Event Center in Fletcher
Stacy Peek with the Madison County Career Center and Barbara Darby with Mountain Area Workforce Development Board at the 2017 Annual Career Fair
Amplified WNC 2017 was a tremendous success
Thanks to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, our many panelist, speakers and partners who made Amplified WNC 2017 a tremendous succcess! Over 200 people attended the summit on November 29 including employers, educators, economic developers, community leaders, elected officials, public policy experts, and others. Special thanks to Jeanne Bonds with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Emily Breedlove with Small Town Ventures and Jack Cecil with Biltmore Farms for their work to make the summit possible. We are working on the next steps to determine how can WNC grow the talent needed by local employers, while simultaneously improving region-wide economic mobility? If you would like to join this conversation, please contact [email protected] and join us on social media using the hash tag #AmplifiedWNC.
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Dr. Arthur Salido, Western Carolina University, Jeanne Bonds, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Justin Hembree and Danna Stansbury, Land of Sky Regional Council, Jason Chappell, NCWorks and Blue Ridge Community College, Nathan Ramsey, Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, Christy Cheek, Buncobme County Schools, Terry Bellamy, AB Tech, and Jack Cecil, Biltmore Farms
Dr. Mike Walden with NC State University made a presentation to the summit on "Economic Mobility in NC and the Asheville metro" via Skype from his office in Raleigh
Matthew Martin, Senior Vice President & Charlotte Regional Executive, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond speaking on "Leading on Opportunity"
Mission Health AB Tech Conference Center hall was filled with the summit attendees
"Meeting Workforce Needs" panel discussion
Christopher Chung, CEO, Economic Development Partnership (EDP) of NC speaking on "Why Talent Matters More than Ever"
"Growing Talent Locally" panel discussion
"Work-Ready Communities" panel discussion
Jack Cecil, CEO & President, Biltmore Farms was the moderator for the summit
"The Critical Link: Early Childhood & Workforce" panel discussion led by Leslie Boney, Vice Provost at NC State University and Director of the Institute of Emerging Issues
Mountain Area Workforce Development Board Recognition Luncheon honors Outstanding Employers and WIOA Participants



Thanks for everyone who attended today’s Mountain Area Workforce Development Board’s 2017 recognition luncheon at  Blue Ridge Community College . Special thanks to the staff at Blue Ridge Community College, Mr. Steve Sigmon, Director of Bands at North Henderson High School, North Henderson High School Wind Ensemble, The Red Radish Catering and many volunteers for making the event possible. We are honored to recognize outstanding employers and WIOA participants in our region. Their stories remind us how workforce development can change lives, transform businesses, and make our community a better place to live. Beyond a wonderful celebration, an additional bonus was that a youth participant connected with an employer at the luncheon and found full-time employment.
Outstanding NCWorks NextGen Participants Frankie Frasure and Kayla Fisher with Jeanine Phillips with Buncombe County Schools
Outstanding NCWorks NextGen Youth participant Christian Fox with Lance Crawford, Goodwill of Northwest NC
Outstanding NCWorks NextGen Youth participant Isaiah Poore with Cody Cheek, Buncombe County Schools
Outstanding WIOA Business Partner Transylvania County Schools, Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey McDaris and Jason Chappell, Manager, NCWorks Career Center Transylvania County and Transylvania County Commissioner
Outstanding WIOA Business Partner AvL Technologies, Jeff Hayes with AvL Technologies, Outstanding WIOA Business Partner Advanced Superabrasives (ASI), Jonathan Szucs with ASI along with Barbara Darby with Mountain Area Workforce Development Board
Over 150 people attended the 2017 Recognition Luncheon at the Blue Ridge Community College Conference Hall
North Henderson High School Wind Ensemble performing "Sleigh Bell" at the 2017 Recognition Luncheon
North Henderson High School Wind Ensemble student flutist performing the National Anthem
Mountain Area Workforce Development Board Chair Terry Collins with Current by GE along with Jason Chappell with Blue Ridge Community College
North Henderson High School Wind Ensemble performing under the direction of Mr. Steve Sigmon, Director of Bands, North Henderson High School
Outstanding WIOA Adult participant Wesley Ledford with Scott Adams, Blue Ridge Community College
Outstanding WIOA Adult participants Holly Milanese and Ana Flores with Barbara Darby, Mountain Area Workforce Development Board
Outstanding WIOA Adult participant Teresa Ray with Julie Thompson, Blue Ridge Community College
Outstanding NCWorks NextGen Youth participant Sasha Houle with Vicki Kelley, Madison County Schools
Outstanding NCWorks NextGen Youth participant Jessica Hoxit sharing her story via video with Meg Decker, Henderson County Schools
Mountain Area Careers (MAC) shares our region's career pathways in Advanced Manufacturing and Hospitality & Tourism
Mountain Area Careers (MAC) shares the career pathways available in our region through a a partnership of employers, educators (K12, community colleges, and four-year universities) and workforce partners.
Employers, educators and workforce partners have developed career pathways in the Advanced Manufacturing and Hospitality & Tourism sectors which have been certified by the NCWorks Commission as “NCWorks Certified Career Pathways.” The purpose of career pathways is to assist employers in meeting their workforce needs along with helping job seekers find the best career opportunity for them. This project is funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) through the United States Department of Labor and the North Carolina Department of Commerce and is intended to reach Dislocated Workers with career outreach.

Our region has around $300,000 in funding available to train Dislocated Workers for the Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Hospitality & Tourism sectors. If your company would like to learn more about how we can assist you in training your new hires, please contact Barbara Darby at [email protected].
Find your career with MAC
Yolanda at Gaia Herbs in Brevard
Robert at Biltmore Farms Hotels in Asheville
Tyler at UPM Raflatac in Henderson County
Susan at Advanced Superabrasives in Madison County
Team from our region with NC Secretary of Commerce Tony Copeland, Deputy Assistant Secretary Catherine Moga Bryant, and Dr. Dion Clark, Director of NCWorks Career Pathways in Raleigh at the NCWorks Commission meeting.
Mountain Area region continues to have NC's lowest unemployment rate


Our region (Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania Counties) continues to have the lowest unemployment rate at  3.2%   in NC, Buncombe County has the lowest rate of any county in NC at 3.1%   . Henderson County is tied for #7 lowest at  3.5%   . Madison County and Transylvania County both have a  3.8%   unemployment rate. 4073 more people are working compared to one year ago and 1600 jobs were added in the past year since September 2016. The Asheville metro (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison Counties) continues to have the lowest unemployment rate of any NC metro at  3.3%   . In the past year  1600   jobs were added in the metro.

In the past year since September 2016, the following sectors added jobs: Mining Logging & Construction (300 jobs), Manufacturing (200 jobs), Professional & Business Services (400 jobs), Education & Health Services (900 jobs), Other Services (100 jobs), and Government (100 jobs).

In the past year since September 2016, the following sectors experienced a net job loss: Trade Transportation & Utilities (lost 300 jobs), Information (lost 100 jobs), and Leisure & Hospitality (lost 200 jobs).