The Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board, Inc. (ECWDB) is a non-profit organization located in New Bern, North Carolina. ECWDB is governed by a twenty-eight member board of directors in partnership with the local elected officials. This is the designated administrative/fiscal agent for the Federal and State workforce development funds appropriated by the North Carolina Department of Commerce to operate employment and training services in a nine county local area. Members of the ECWDB are appointed by the Elected Officials of their respective counties in accordance with criteria established by the Governor. ECWDB membership includes representatives from business and industry, education agencies, economic development agencies, vocational rehabilitation, and labor organizations. The ECWDB administers workforce development programs funded through the Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It contracts its programs with reputable organizations throughout the nine counties who provide services in their local NCWorks Career Center, serving both the job seeker and employer populations.
Our role here at ECWDB is to ensure that the local workforce development system is market-driven and responsive to meeting the employment and training needs of both job seekers and employers.
Our vision for Eastern North Carolina is a qualified workforce with an educational attainment level that meets the needs of local firms so they can compete in today’s marketplace.
Our mission is to develop the workforce through a collaborative, customer-focused approach that facilitates partnerships between job seekers, workers, employers, and educators, aligning workforce requirements to economic needs.
We add economic value to our community by ensuring that our public workforce system is responsive in meeting the education and training needs of our job seekers and employers alike, thereby leading to a better quality of life and ensuring employers have access to the skilled workforce they need, resulting in a thriving economy.
"We have been given a high call to protect and promote the sanctity of work. The fulfillment that it brings to take on the responsibility of enriching the lives of the people we meet through fostering strong relationships. Facilitating individuals attaining their needs and their dreams. Bringing these individuals together and showing them how their needs and talents can combine to deliver great outcomes.
We will not win every encounter and we have a lot to learn from each other and from the future as it unfolds. I would ask that each of us finds a way to use the talent we have been blessed with to help “one” jobseeker, worker, employer, or educator to be successful in aligning the needs and the desires they have. Then when we have helped “one” we can help one more and encourage them to join the fight as well."
-Al Searles, Chair
For more information, please refer to the following documents: