High Country Workforce Development Board

05/27/2026

Two great hiring events coming up in Wilkes and Ashe!
Reach out to NCWorks Career Center of Wilkes and NCWorks Career Center of Ashe & Alleghany for more information!

05/15/2026

Great WDB meeting yesterday welcoming newest Board member Brandy Watson with Provalus in Wilkes County and a presentation featuring Dr. Brett Taubman, Director of AppState Fermentation Sciences to share about their innovative Rootsii workforce development initiative! Exciting development around agriculture technology! Learn more at https://www.rootsii.com/about.

05/08/2026

Great interactive presentation at the Smart Start conference in Greensboro! The team shed light on our collaboration to recruit and retain early childhood teachers through the Childcare Academy held at the Wilkes Community Partnership for Children and the NCWorks Career Center of Wilkes pre-apprenticeship program. We are proud of our most recent group of Academy recruits! It was a great morning sharing ideas with other counties to tackle the childcare teacher crisis.

Team: Veatrice Johnson, Career Advisor at NCWorks; Misty Bishop-Price, Director WDB; Stacy Daniels, Childcare Resource and Referral Consultant at WCPC

04/27/2026

Congratulations to WDB staff, Debra Foxx for completing the Leaderhsip Development program with the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce!

04/10/2026

Lunch and Learn: Fraud Protection happening next week! Shred truck on site at High Country Council of Governments on New Market Blvd. Please register if attending!

04/09/2026

Last week our team participated in the NC Business Services Summit in Greensboro and participated in a panel on using Data Tools in workforce development. Lots of great information!

04/02/2026

Congratulations on this multi-regional award at the NC Rural Center conference! Excellence in Regional Collaboration:
• Western Broadband Coalition
• The coalition is comprised of five regional councils of government: Land of Sky Regional Council, High Country Council of Governments, Western Piedmont Council of Government, Southwestern Commission, and Foothills Regional Commission

03/24/2026

Our NCWorks partnership with the Ashe County Disaster Case Management Team has assisted in providing services and support to hundreds of households through employing Disaster Case Managers as they navigate resources and support families! Reach out to us if interested in learning more about the Hurricane Helene recovery services available.

Official Site Ashe County NC
NCWorks Career Center of Ashe & Alleghany

03/18/2026

We are still engaging worksites for work related to hurricane recovery! Reach out to our NCWorks Center if interested in learning more!

NCWorks Career Center - Avery, Mitchell & Yancey Counties
NCWorks Career Center of Watauga County
NCWorks Career Center of Ashe & Alleghany

If you’re looking for work in Western NC, you may qualify for a disaster recovery workforce program. Thanks to a special U.S. Department of Labor grant, you could get a temporary job helping to restore the region and serve your community, while you can also access career training support services through .

This grant is time-limited and available in select counties. Contact your local NCWorks Career Center for more information about what's available and how you might qualify. Contact information is available at www.NCWorks.gov.

High Country Workforce Development Board Mountain Area Workforce Development Board WNC Recovery Foothills Regional Commission Western Piedmont NCWorks Career Centers Southwestern Commission

02/26/2026

Congratulations Susannah! Susannah served in our Disaster Recovery Employment Program assisting with program expectations and working with other dislocated workers in the community while completing her Human Services Degree! Upon completion, she has gained employment as a Disaster Case Manager for a local releif organization, continuing to support the region in hurricane recovery. Thanks to your support at the NCWorks Career Center - Avery, Mitchell & Yancey Counties!

Mayland Community College