Leaders from Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst and Spiritus Systems headquartered in Aberdeen, North Carolina, met last week to sign a three-year training agreement to include leadership and a variety of professional development opportunities with classes and experiences being held on both site locations and within the community.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our business and employees,” said Nichole Holroyd, COO of Spiritus Systems, in a press release. “We’re appreciative for the Sandhills Community College team to bring this experience to us and look forward to working with their faculty and trainers to support the workforce needs of our staff. Growing our team from within is important to our culture and future plans for ongoing success. I love to see when academia and business can work together and no one does it better than North Carolina.”

Holroyd taught at Sandhills Community College for a short stint and CEO Zane Vogel earned an Associate Degree in Business from Sandhills Community College after serving in the Army. He and CCO Adam Holroyd first had the idea for the business while on the mountainside in the Hindu Kush serving in the Army. They engaged others who knew firsthand what would make a better product for their safety and convenience while out in the field or performing their job. Since its inception, the company has grown to more than 100 employees with clients worldwide.

The partnership is part of the NCEdge Customized Training Program funded by the North Carolina General Assembly and North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). Sandhills Community College will administer the training support funds for the Spiritus Systems project. The training funds made available to Sandhills Community College are based on Spiritus System’s estimates of salary, newly created full-time positions, and capital investment.

“We are excited to see this partnership in the local community with Spiritus Systems and look forward to many more opportunities like this to support local businesses in the region we serve in Moore and Hoke Counties,” said Sandhills Community College President Alexander “Sandy” Stewart in a press release. “We are proud to use our skill set to empower employees and employers to grow their teams and operations through our newly formed Workforce Development and Corporate Partnership division.”

The division is led by Senior Director for Workforce Development & Corporate Partnerships, Taylor McCaskill and Director of Customized Training and Organizational Development, Carlos McCormick. The alliance between the two organizations will be rated on quality, usefulness and the quantifiable financial impact the company has realized as a result of the programs and services offered over the next three years. The purpose of the new division is to empower businesses and build futures through workforce solutions tailored specifically for Moore and Hoke Counties.