Cape Fear Community College joins effort to fill 1 million skilled trades jobs
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Community College is joining a nationwide initiative aimed at training and placing 1 million workers in skilled trades jobs over the next decade.
The Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition was launched Tuesday by the Lowe’s Foundation. The coalition brings together employers, educators, nonprofits and other organizations with a goal of training and placing 1 million workers in critical skilled trades by 2035.
CFCC received a $500,000 Lowe’s Gable Grant through the coalition last summer. The funding allowed the college to launch eight new skilled trade courses in January 2026.
The new offerings include plumbing at Pender Correctional Institution, facility maintenance at New Hanover Correctional Institution and construction trades through CFCC’s Adult High School program.
As of July, 100 students had enrolled in the new courses, according to the college.
The grant also provides materials for CFCC’s Live House Project, which gives students hands-on experience building residential homes.
“This partnership with the Lowe’s Foundation allows us to directly tackle the growing demand for skilled trade professionals across the Cape Fear region,” CFCC President Jim Morton said. “By expanding our course offerings and giving students hands-on experience through initiatives like the Live House Project, we are helping our students build rewarding careers while strengthening our local workforce and economy.”
The initiative comes as employers across the country face shortages in skilled trade workers, according to the college. Retirements and increased infrastructure investment are contributing to demand for workers in fields such as construction, plumbing and maintenance.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that as many as 2.1 million skilled trades jobs could go unfilled by 2030.
In North Carolina, the state Department of Commerce projects demand for more than 16,000 plumbers and 50,000 maintenance and repair workers by 2034.
CFCC said its participation in the coalition, along with its apprenticeship programs and expanded course offerings, is intended to help develop a local workforce for the Cape Fear region.
More information about CFCC’s Workforce Development programs is available through the college’s continuing education division.
