FTCC meets with Cumberland County officials to discuss achievements and 2025-26 goals

By Staff Report, posted Mar 25, 2025 on BizFayetteville.com

Photo (left to right): Cumberland County Commissioner Glenn Adams, Cumberland County Manager Clarence Grier, FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells, and Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kirk deViere. Photo provided by FTCC.

Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) hosted members of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and the County management team on Monday, March 24, to discuss the College’s achievements and its goals for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Cumberland County is a valuable partner of FTCC’s, providing funding for operation and upkeep of the College’s physical facilities.

“Your assistance is really critical to our ability to meet our mission,” FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells said at Monday’s meeting.

In return, FTCC supports the local and regional economy by educating thousands of students each year in both degree programs and high-demand, short-term workforce training programs that help employers fill jobs and move forward. FTCC has had nine consecutive terms of growth in curriculum enrollment. The College served approximately 30,000 students in 2024-25.

“We are the fuel that drives economic activity and economic growth in the county through development of a comprehensive talent-development ecosystem,” Sorrells said of FTCC in a press release. “We are in the business of preparing a future-ready workforce that is aligned with the core needs of our employers.”

The high-demand, low-supply employment fields being served by FTCC include healthcare, trades and transportation, information technology and public safety and first responders. FTCC has created or expanded programs in all of these areas.

The College is also working on or planning other expansions. A commercial truck driving training facility in western Cumberland County, now in development, will greatly expand the College’s current facilities as well as serve CDL students from Bladen and Robeson community colleges. A heavy diesel mechanic program is planned to be added to that facility in 2026.

The College plans to move its carpentry and plumbing training programs into a renovated former car dealership on Bragg Boulevard. The move will provide those programs with expanded and modern space and will free up space in their former location for the electrical training program.

The College has expanded and continues to expand its healthcare programs. With 400 seats available for its nursing school, FTCC is the fifth largest pre-licensure nursing school in the state when graduate programs are included in the overall figure. When graduate nursing programs are omitted from the total figure, FTCC is the third largest nursing school in the state.

“What you all do is extremely important to this community,” said Chairman of the County Commissioners Kirk deViere in a press release. “We know from a workforce standpoint that every win that we’re having in economic development… you all have been right at the table. That’s critical. That’s how we’re going to grow as a community.”

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