The program will focus initially on healthcare, early childhood education, advanced manufacturing, and skilled trades, connecting students with internships, pre-apprenticeships, and career-focused training opportunities while helping employers address persistent labor shortages.

Debbie Cromwell, A-B Tech’s director of work-based learning, hopes the initiative will create a more coordinated workforce ecosystem in a region still navigating the aftermath of multiple economic shocks, including the pandemic and Hurricane Helene. 

“There’s always a multitude of grants here and there, and there’s so many people going to the employers for the same ask,” Cromwell said. “We really did need to centralize.”

The model for ABM Works draws inspiration from Surry-Yadkin Works, a multi-county workforce initiative in another part of North Carolina. Cromwell said the foundational concept is simple: helping communities “grow your own” workforce instead of continually losing trained talent to outside markets. 

Employers have said they appreciate the talent coming out of the local education pipeline, but find that many of those well-trained students don’t realize they can stay in the area and still make a good living. Employers continue to face staffing shortages while housing costs and economic instability push younger workers elsewhere.

Rather than replacing existing programs, ABM Works is intended to function as a collaborative hub connecting school systems, employers, workforce agencies, chambers of commerce, and community organizations. The initiative currently involves 15 high schools across Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, and Madison County Schools. 

Cromwell said the focus is not only on placing students into careers, but helping them understand occupations before committing significant time or money to a training program.

“It’s really all about introducing occupations and letting them spend some time understanding the occupation they think they want to do,” Cromwell said, “and see if it is really what they want to do.”

The effort also includes helping employers expand registered apprenticeship opportunities—something Cromwell believes is currently one of the largest missing pieces in workforce development efforts statewide.

“All this money is being given to Western North Carolina to build pre-apprenticeships,” Cromwell said. “That’s great. But if the pre-apprentices don’t have an opportunity to move into an apprenticeship, some of the benefits that come with completing a pre-apprenticeship program [aren’t useful].”

She said many smaller employers are interested in participating but often lack the time or staffing to build apprenticeship systems on their own.

“There’s no money coming in to help [mom-and-pop employers] set up and start registered apprenticeship programs,” Cromwell said.

Cromwell wants to ensure that ABM Works is not simply a grant-funded program that disappears after several years. She hopes it creates lasting systems and relationships that continue long after the initial funding ends.

“The goal is when the money’s gone, it’ll be a sustainable program,” Cromwell said.

Part of that strategy includes training school systems themselves to build and manage pre-apprenticeship programs. Cromwell said all three school districts now have registered pre-apprenticeships in process. ABM Works will build durable employer relationships and embed workforce development directly into school systems.

“I want it to be an ongoing thing,” Cromwell said. “I want it to be sustainable. It needs to be. We make promises to the community, and we need to hold those promises up.”

For employers, Cromwell said participation can range from internships to full apprenticeship sponsorships, and opportunities exist for businesses of all sizes.

“Everybody from your mom-and-pops to your Fortune 500 companies [can participate],” Cromwell said. “If there’s a way to do it, we’ll do it.”

Ultimately, Cromwell sees the initiative as an example of how education institutions can help drive long-term economic recovery and workforce resilience in Western North Carolina.