RALEIGH – The member-funded State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation recently introduced the Bridge to Career scholarship program in partnership with the North Carolina Community College System.

The scholarship is an enhanced version of the foundation’s former continuing education scholarship. It aims to help remove financial roadblocks for unemployed and underemployed students seeking careers with sustainable wages in their communities through attendance in a community college workforce development program.

The program has two tiers: a cohort pilot scholarship and workforce development scholarship.

The cohort pilot provides 20 community colleges with as many as 30 $500 scholarships. It also provides as much as $3,000 in funding per program year for a college staff member to navigate scholarship recipients through the education process, from choosing a career pathway to class registration and job placement.

The second tier, workforce development, provides 38 community colleges with as many as six $500 scholarships per program year for individuals either currently enrolled or enrolling in an eligible short-term training program that leads to state-regulated or industry-recognized credentials.

“SECU members understand the importance and impact that continuing education has made for so many North Carolinians. It’s an important part of the foundation’s ‘People Helping People’ scholarship program,” says Jama Campbell, the foundation’s executive director. “We’re very excited about enhancements that have been made in the transition to the Bridge to Career program, further helping our state and its citizens as they work to build a better economic future for themselves and their families.”