Montgomery Community College's
Workforce Development Center
Who Are We?
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Montgomery Community College's Workforce Development Center is where innovation, empowerment, and resources unite to assist the great people of Montgomery County and beyond. We specialize in offering short term training courses that not only allow a person to enter into a new career, but the specialized training to help them advance in their career. We aid current and future small business owners with the right tools and resources to not only achieve their goals, but exceed them.
We offer financial resources to help individuals thrive in school and on the job. We are on the receiving end when the local industry needs specialized training or a qualified employee. In addition to injecting the workforce with talented workers, we offer opportunities for personal growth through our unique programming that allows people to just have fun! Much like a financial advisor, we are with you every step of the way.
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Women's History Month is a time for us to celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.
Montgomery Community College's Workforce Development Center focuses on empowering and assisting the great people in Montgomery County. This month, we wanted to feature some of the powerful women who continue to break barriers, inspire, dare to envision, and pave the future for women in rural Montgomery County. The road to genuine gender equality is a long and constantly shifting one, but we give thanks and credit to our women who help make this county flourish and will continue to support them as they fight stereotypes and inequities as they trailblaze their way to success. Here's to the strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them. As Maya Angelou would say, being a woman is truly phenomenal.
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A Woman Who Teaches by Being
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As an active community volunteer, a professional leadership and development instructor for a global energy company, and a small business owner, Stacey Kerney is a natural-born educator with admirable strength and resiliency; a phenomenal woman trailblazing her way through stereotypes and barriers.
After watching Stacey’s father serve her community as a Volunteer Firefighter since she was a small child, Stacey knew that she wanted to give back to her community. At first, she thought her path would be teaching, but while in college at NC State University, Stacey realized that she had a passion for Law Enforcement. After graduation, she returned home, became a police officer with the Burlington Police Department, and joined the volunteer fire department alongside her father. It was an honor to serve the same county in which she grew up.
For over 14 years Stacey worked as a patrol officer, as a member of the Street Crimes Unit, Narcotics Investigator, SWAT, instructor (Firearms, Standardized Field Sobriety), and was selected for promotion to a supervisor position within the Patrol Division. Stacey says “When I started in Law Enforcement, I was so very lucky to have female officers I could look up to and seek out for mentorship. During that time, females were a small percentage of the workforce. My agency realized the importance of women in law enforcement and actively sought out women for employment.” During Stacey’s law enforcement career, driven by her desire to serve and educate she sought additional education and obtained her Master’s Degree in Law Enforcement Administration and Leadership from Methodist University.
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Unfortunately, a significant injury sustained while trying to apprehend a suspect resulted in Stacey having to take early retirement from the job that she loved so very much. She was determined that this wouldn’t be the end of her impact within law enforcement. Thankfully Stacey’s love for instruction, training, and leadership, had led her to acquire several instructor certifications throughout her career, and transitioning to teach at Basic Law Enforcement Training Academies and within the NC Community College System was organic. It was actually on the shooting range at Randolph Community College where Stacey and her husband, Jamie Kerney, met doing what they both love; teaching firearms for the police academy. Being able to teach in the firearms program where there are limited female law enforcement firearms instructors was a huge honor. “I truly believe in the importance of both male and female police cadets to have the opportunity to have a diverse learning environment, but also for female cadets to see and learn from another female. To be able to mentor those women during the starting points in their careers and allow them to experience the many stereotypes of women in law enforcement especially when handling firearms, is just that, a stereotype,” says Stacey.
Providing instruction in various BLET programs, including Montgomery Community College led to the Kerney’s starting their own small business; Kerney Consulting, LLC which offers leadership, firearms, and basic law enforcement training. Being a natural entrepreneur with a love for travel, Stacey also discovered a huge need in Montgomery County for a travel agency and delved into a new adventure starting Uwharrie Travel & Adventure. Uwharrie Travel is a full-service travel consulting business specializing in exploring, planning, and finalizing your next adventure. Stacey's attention to detail from her years in law enforcement aided her in developing Uwharrie Travel and is a reminder that skills and training can transfer to any industry. Stacy Kerney is a phenomenal woman indeed.
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Dr. Robyn McArdle is the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program Coordinator for Montgomery Community College. She started her career in EMS in 2006 and has since worked in various career and volunteer EMS systems. Robyn's love for EMS has expanded over the years specifically into rural and vulnerable populations, as well as the emerging field of community paramedicine. In her previous roles, she has worked as an EMS systems training officer, the clinical director for Cape Fear Valley Health System's Accountable Care Organization, and currently as a Community Development Specialist with the NC Office of Rural Health. Robyn loves working with students who have a passion for EMS and want to find their way into the healthcare field. Robyn holds a master’s degree in Emergency Management from Millersville University, a Doctor of Public Health from Capella University, and is still an active paramedic.
Robyn is making a significant impact in Montgomery County and surrounding counties with her strong leadership, experience, and passion for saving lives. Courageously breaking barriers, Robyn is helping pave the way for women in Emergency Medical Services.
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A Woman in Harmony With Her Spirit
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With a passion and love for everything artistic, outdoors, and hunting, Jordan McDuffie is breaking barriers as an aspiring taxidermist. Jordan attended Wingate University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Business Management in 2020. While in her senior year at Wingate, Jordan discovered that she was still very unsure about the career path she wanted to take after graduation. During this path of self-discovery, Jordan's passion for the outdoors and hunting remained strong.
In December of her senior year at Wingate, Jordan harvested a beautiful mallard drake on a waterfowl hunt. Her father, an avid outdoorsman, encouraged her to get the duck mounted and that sparked Jordan's interest to pursue a new path, taxidermy. With this newfound desire to channel her artistic nature and love for the outdoors, Jordan decided to attend Montgomery Community College in the fall of 2020 to pursue a degree in Taxidermy.
Jordan says, "I am incredibly thankful to have found what I love to do and it is an absolute joy to attend class each week. Andy Speer (MCC's Head Taxidermy instructor and owner of Andy's Taxidermy) has taught me so much and I'm excited to continue to learn from him." Jordan is thrilled to see where Taxidermy takes her in the future. She currently works for her family's trucking business in Asheboro, North Carolina, but hopes to one day make taxidermy her full-time career.
Jordan shows us that a single event can awaken one's true self. This event has allowed Jordan to live in harmony with her outdoor-loving and artistic spirit. It takes a strong, diligent, and fearless woman to step into the unknown. As she continues her journey to become a taxidermist, Jordan is inspiring women in the outdoor industry to align themselves with their passion and to not be afraid to take a leap of faith to follow their dream.
To learn more about the esteemed Taxidermy program, a regular spotlight on the regional TV series "Carolina All Out", at Montgomery Community College, please click the link below!
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The Biggest Room in the World is the Room for Improvement
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Lean and Process Improvement for the HR Professional
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April 21, 2021, is Administrative Professionals Day, and what better way to show your administrative team members that you’re invested in their future than by offering new professional challenges and opportunities?
Montgomery Community College will offer a FREE one-day training on Lean and Process Improvement for the HR Professional. This one-day course focuses on the fundamental Lean principles used by successful organizations across multiple industries. Lean for Human Resource Professionals has been used to:
- Reduce lead time for hiring
- Provide value to employees
- Increase efficiency in the entire organization
- Comply with EEOC Standards
- Reduce employee turnover
- Streamline HR processes
There will only be 25 seats available for this training, if you are interested in this training please send your best contact information to
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You may think girls just want to have fun, but girls really want to learn!
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Over half of the GEER scholarships issued at this point have been to female students continuing their education in a high-demand workforce training program that will lead to a state or industry-recognized credential.
Health Occupations, which includes classes such as Emergency Medical Technician, Phlebotomy, and Nursing Assistant Training, leads the charge with 63 women currently enrolled in these high-demand essential training courses. It is a true testament to a person's character for those who dive into a health care field during a pandemic.
The world's new virtual lifestyle and the need for technical people to problem solve in the information technology sector enticed 7 ladies to begin our online Google IT support pathway at Montgomery Community College.
A new generation of women welders is rocking a male-dominated industry. Women welders make up only 2% of the welding workforce and the call to action for women to step into this growing industry is strong. We currently have 1 young lady who is utilizing a GEER scholarship to learn this great trade and yes folks, she is on fire!
Women have blazed trails throughout history but really gained attention with Norman Rockwell's illustration of the American icon Rosie the Riveter. Women excelling in nontraditional jobs during World War II serves as a reminder that people should engage in meaningful work that they find purposeful and rewarding.
The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) scholarship helps community college students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic receive short-term workforce training. Please call 910-898-9672 to learn more about programs that are elig
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Inspirational Quote of the Month
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