Vice President Joe Biden will join his wife Jill and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis for their last stop on a community college tour in North Carolina Friday, the latest in a series of visits from Obama administration officials to the presidential swing state.
Davidson County Community College will host the last stop on that three-day tour that included community colleges in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Solis and Jill, a community college professor for the last 18 years, embarked on the tour to promote President Obama’s $8 billion Community College to Career Fund in his budget proposal.
Secretary Solis said in an email statement that Obama’s community college plan would support paid internships for low-income students to obtain on-the-job experience and updated training programs and certifications for high-growth and high-demand jobs. It also would create public-private partnerships allowing businesses to invest in areas with skilled workers.
“America’s future will only be as strong as the industries we create and grow, and that means we must support our entrepreneurs, our workers and the institutions that train them,” she said.
Solis said the president hopes his proposal will lead to an additional 5 million graduates from community colleges nationwide by 2020. Enrollment at community colleges in the state has already been on the rise as students seek a more cost-effective education in a tough economy.
“Enrollment in North Carolina’s community colleges grew 28.5 percent from 2007-08 to 2010-11,” said Linda Weiner, vice president of engagement and strategic innovation for the N.C. community college system.
Community colleges selected to host the tour stops have initiated public-private partnerships with employers seeking workers with a specific skill set.
Davidson County in particular influenced Unilin, a Belgian flooring company, to open a plant in Thomasville. All of the school’s electronic engineering graduates have received jobs at companies.
But there’s more to the Bidens’ visit than touting proposed community college training programs.
Obama won the traditionally red state by about 14,000 votes in 2008, and his campaign officials are desperate to maintain a presence in one of this year’s most crucial battleground states.
“I think it’s pretty clear that both Democrats and Republicans view North Carolina as a swing state in the upcoming election,” said Thomas Carsey, a UNC political science professor.
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