Kittrell Job Corps Center is a place where young adults can find their way – to education, support services, training and a career. Center Director Norman Turner said there are just a few criteria that applicants must satisfy to start their KJCC journey. A
One student, Ken’Dal “Della” McCants, is currently in the CNA program and said Kittrell Job Corps just “works” for her.
Turner, McCants and Outreach Career Transition Director Vernell Milon were guests on TownTalk to discuss all that KJCC has to offer.
Turner has been working at KJCC for about 16 years, and he said there are abourt 200 students currently enrolled in one of the many programs that Kittrell Job Corps offers – from getting a high school diploma to office administration, facilities management, culinary arts and security, just to name a few.
Like so many other programs, the COVID-19 pandemic created a wrinkle how KJCC operates. The school, which has two dorms for students to live on campus, also has programs for the non-traditional college student.
“COVID put a damper on our ability to recruit students,” Turner said, “but we’re back fully open and ready to roll,” he continued. The school can accommodate 350 students.
Milon and her team of a dozen counselors and eight career transition specialists consider the individual needs of the students they work with to make sure they are successful as they continue along the path to financial independence and gainful employment.
The programs at KJCC are totally free, and there are a good number of wraparound services like medical care, clothing allowances and the like to make sure students have proper attire for jobs and can get the medical attention they need.
Milon and her team of counselors spread the word throughout the community about what the Job Corps is, what it does and who it’s for.
“It’s not just for underserved or at-risk students,” Milon said; rather, it’s for anyone between the ages of 16-24 who wants to make a difference in their lives – and find a career that they enjoy.
Not everyone is meant to go to college, Milon said, but everyone can work. And she wants all her students to have jobs that pay at least $17/hour.
“We want them to be better off than when they first got here,” she said.
McCants, the CNA student, considers herself a good fit for the Job Corps program because the teachers give you the “time and space to learn” instead of trying to get through the curriculum and moving on to the next thing.
She said her teachers are very helpful and are helping her reach her goal of becoming a traveling nurse.
The Kittrell location is one of more than 120 Job Corps programs across the country. New students are enrolled every Tuesday and Turner said there are 10 more students starting their Job Corps journey this week.
“We’re wide open,” Turner said. “We’re open for business.
Want to learn more? Contact Milon at 252.438.9116 or visit
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