Representatives from WCC and FTCC attended the signing ceremony. Pictured from left to right, they are: FTCC Department Chair of Funeral Service Education James Bullard, FTCC Dean of Nursing and Funeral Service Education Sharon Gallagher, FTCC Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Services Murtis Worth, FTCC President Mark Sorrells, WCC President Patty Pfeiffer, WCC Dean of Business and Computer Technologies Tracy Schmeltzer, and WCC Department Chair of Business and Accounting Erin LeGrand. (WCC photo)

Representatives from WCC and FTCC attended the signing ceremony. Pictured from left to right, they are: FTCC Department Chair of Funeral Service Education James Bullard, FTCC Dean of Nursing and Funeral Service Education Sharon Gallagher, FTCC Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Services Murtis Worth, FTCC President Mark Sorrells, WCC President Patty Pfeiffer, WCC Dean of Business and Computer Technologies Tracy Schmeltzer, and WCC Department Chair of Business and Accounting Erin LeGrand. (WCC photo)

GOLDSBORO — Wayne Community College and Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) have entered a Strategic Regional Partnership, reinforcing their joint efforts to provide educational opportunities to those in their service areas.

A signing event was held at WCC to mark the continued partnership between the colleges in offering Funeral Service Education to students both at WCC and FTCC.

The two schools have had an instructional service agreement for the program since the fall of 2020, allowing students to complete their first two semesters at WCC before finishing the Funeral Service Education program and obtaining their associate degree at FTCC. All classes are offered in person or completely online.

The program provides students with knowledge in basic funeral service skills. Graduates, upon passing the state or national exam and completing an internship in a funeral home, are qualified for employment as embalmers and/or funeral directors.

During the signing ceremony, FTCC President Mark Sorrells acknowledged the importance of helping provide specialized workforce training for rural colleges and communities. “We are grateful for this partnership,” he said. “We’re very excited about these types of partnerships because it shows the collective regional collaboration that we’re interested in and partnering to do to make sure we’re meeting the needs of our business community.”

“Together, we can continue to provide a variety of educational opportunities between our schools, collaborating to prepare our students for a successful career in funeral services,” said WCC President Patty Pfeiffer. “These efforts will strengthen our workforce in this specialized field to meet the needs in both of our communities.”