Growing New Jobs - North Carolina NPR News

Growing New Jobs

July 19, 2012 |

On July 20, the state's U.S. Senator Kay Hagan will host The North Carolina Back to Work Job Summit. Business, economic and education leaders will discuss workforce and economic development. Since January, Senator Hagan has toured our state learning how residents and communities are creating new employment opportunities. She says there are new opportunities in farming and technology, "A lot of areas throughout our state are looking at small organic farms. In Wake County, I went to Wake Tech Community College and they've got a two year program that focuses on games and simulations where they're training people on software application. And a lot of businesses as well as our military use simulation."

Recently, her Small Business Common Application Act died in the senate on Capitol Hill. The measure would have reduced the amount of paperwork small businesses needed to fill out to apply for federal grants, seek technical assistance or bid on a federal contract. According to the Small Business Administration, companies with fewer than 20 employees often spend more than $10,000 per employee to comply with federal regulations. And Senator Hagan believes the lack of bi-partisan cooperation between Democrats and Republicans is fueled by this being a presidential election year, “I think it’s due to an election coming up and people are waiting to see what happens. But people in North Carolina don’t want to wait for another election. They are asking us and expecting us to put our differences aside and really work together.” In the meantime, Senator Hagan urges local business and political leaders to funnel more resources into their community colleges. She says they are the best resource for the unemployed who need to develop new skills and a place where new job initiatives are created.