The Appalachian Energy Center is partnering with Appalachian State University’s Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, the Office of Rural Promise, and myFutureNC on the Trades Pathways Initiative, a collaborative effort to strengthen Western North Carolina’s building trades workforce.
Supported through the university’s 2026 Chancellor’s Innovation Scholars Program, the initiative aims to address the region’s skilled trades workforce gap by creating field-based career pathways that connect higher education, hands-on learning, and employment opportunities. The project also supports myFutureNC’s statewide goal of having 2 million North Carolinians ages 25 to 44 earn an industry-valued credential or postsecondary degree by 2030.
Led by Dr. Andrew Windham, associate professor in the Department of Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, the project team also includes Dr. Jamie Russell, director of the Appalachian Energy Center; Dr. James Beeler, executive director of the Office of Rural Promise; and Jason Miller, associate dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts. Learn more.