A BRIGHT FUTURE: N.C. community colleges use apprenticeships and advanced equipment to train the workforce of the future.

• Position: FOCUS ON: COMMUNITY COLLEGES

North Carolina's community colleges operate in a challenging environment in which increasingly sophisticated employers need highly skilled workers. They're rising to the challenge.

To meet the needs of 21 st-century industries, community colleges have developed a variety of apprenticeship programs in conjunction with specific employers. They've added new spaces such as clean rooms to train the next generation of advanced manufacturers.

A growing number of the 58 community colleges in the N.C. system are developing programs specifically for new employers in their respective regions.

Initiatives include Alamance Community College's Biotechnology Center of Excellence and Wake Tech's Research Triangle Park campus, which houses its Corporate and Business Solutions division and provides customized corporate training and industry credentialing.

In addition, community colleges help existing workers update and enhance their education through continuing education. At Lenoir Community College, for instance, displaced workers can...