Durham Tech helps train Wolfspeed employees to level up and introduces own students to jobs

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- In the last three years, Durham Tech has developed a relationship with Wolfspeed.

The same company President Biden came to visit on Tuesday.

The partnership started in 2020 to offer customized training for the company to build its workforce.

The goal of the specialized "Technician Certification Program" is to "upskill" Wolfspeed employees and prepare them for higher roles.

"These are individuals who are trying to skill up and be promoted within the company," said JB Buxton, president of Durham Technical Community College.

So far the certificate program has graduated 160 Wolfspeed folks and 76 of them have been promoted.

But it's not just Wolfspeed's workforce.

"It's a company on the cutting edge of some of the most important industries in the world and that's a partner we want to make sure we get an introduction to our students for," Buxton said. "People's view of manufacturing is kind of the mill in the 1940s -- that's not today. These are clean workplaces, workplaces contributing to places like electric vehicles and life sciences."