Programs & Services

Goodwill’s Ability Services Program provides training and job placement assistance for persons with disabilities. The self-paced format offers assessment and planning, career coaching, resume preparation, Career Readiness Certification, wellness support, and education, job readiness, and skills training. All services are free, and no referral is needed. To learn more, email or call the location nearest you:

Buncombe County  828-298-9023
Catawba County  828-465-0371
Forsyth County  336-724-3621
Iredell County  704-873-5005

The Access Center offers a unique opportunity for adults to earn their high school diplomas, GED, or HSE. Students receive individualized services and support from a career coach to help guide their process to success and job placement assistance. In addition, they receive help from instructors in coursework while earning a credential in a skill area that is in high demand with employers. To contact the Access Center nearest you, please call the numbers below or email.

• In Asheville, the Access Center is offered in partnership with Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) 828-298-9023
• In Morganton, the Access Center is offered in partnership with Western Piedmont Community College 828-448-6156
• In Statesville, the Access Center is offered in partnership with Mitchell Community College 704-873-5005
• In Winston-Salem, the Access Center is offered in partnership with Forsyth Technical Community College 336-724-3621

Interested in learning more about the Access Center?  Fill out this short interest form and a career coach will follow up with you.

Goodwill’s Career Connections Centers offer free, personalized services to aid in your job search including resume-writing assistance, skills assessment, career coaching, access to computers, help with interviewing skills, and job placement services. Some locations are operated in partnership with the NCWorks system. For more information, email or connect with a Career Navigator.

Goodwill is the one-stop operator for NCWorks in seven counties in partnership with Piedmont Triad Regional Workforce Board. These counties include Davie, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin. Goodwill Industries of Central NC partners to provide services in Caswell and Rockingham Counties. In partnership with the High Country Workforce Board, Goodwill provides services in centers in Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga, and Wilkes Counties.

The services offered through these partnerships include an array of employment and educational services for both youth and adults funded primarily through the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA). In addition, WIOA funding supports youth programming in Buncombe and Transylvania counties. NCWorks Career Centers are a resource for anyone who is eligible to work in North Carolina. Job seekers are offered a variety of no-cost resources, including career advising, training opportunities, and access to job listings. For more information, email or call 336-464-0520. To register online or to find the NCWorks location nearest you, visit ptrc.org.

At Goodwill’s Professional Center in Winston-Salem, professionals seeking a competitive edge in their job search can receive free assistance with networking skills, interviewing strategies, salary negotiation, social media, and image consulting. The Center also provides career transition services for companies and can connect employers to qualified candidates. The center is located at Goodwill’s headquarters, 2701 University Parkway in Winston-Salem. For more information, email or call 336-724-3621 ext. 11383.

The Prosperity Center is a United Way collaborative of Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina and Financial Pathways of the Piedmont. The program utilizes career navigation services to develop plans for individuals to achieve their vocational, financial, and educational goals. Career Navigators and financial staff are onsite, allowing access to assistance with resume writing, applications, networking, and interviewing skills and financial coaching sessions on asset-building, debt reduction, budgeting, and good use of credit. Center staff provide wrap-around services through assistance with or referral to resources to help overcome other barriers to employment, such as housing, transportation, and language skills. The center provides bilingual services and Hispanic outreach, connecting Hispanic individuals to resources tailored to their needs. The center is located at Goodwill’s Regional Operations Center, 2760 Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. For more information, email or call 336-201-0800.

The mission of Project Re-entry is to provide transition services for former offenders returning to Alexander, Buncombe, Catawba, Forsyth, Davidson, Davie, Henderson, Iredell, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties after serving active prison sentences. Project Re-entry works with the NC Department of Public Safety to provide a system of pre- and post-release services that begin with inmates up to eighteen months prior to release. Long-term services continue after the inmates are released.

Goodwill partners with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council to offer employment and training services that help former offenders find jobs and become productive members of the community. Project Re-entry also works with former offenders in the community that are within 30 days of their release from any state or federal prison facility.  In the last year alone, approximately 400 former offenders have secured employment through the Project Re-entry program. Email for more information or call 336-724-3621.

Goodwill provides an array of targeted skills training programs, largely in partnership with the community college system. These short-term programs train students to become employable in high-demand fields such as healthcare, customer service, and hospitality industries, trades skills such as welding, office technology, culinary, professional truck driver training, and many others. Students may also choose to take stackable credentials in some locations so that they can enter the workforce with one credential and add training or credentials to their career track while working.

Skills training classes are offered in Buncombe, Catawba, Davidson, Forsyth, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, and Rowan Counties. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify.

Email to learn more.

Goodwill’s Veterans Services Program provides holistic services to enhance the lives of veterans and their families through Goodwill programming and in collaboration with like-minded partners. Employment and training services are offered at no cost, including assessment and planning, career coaching, resume preparation assistance, LinkedIn profile set up, job skills training (scholarships available), job placement, and connections to other community resources. Email to learn more.

Goodwill offers a variety of free, year-round services to help youth ages 14 to 24 reach their full potential, both vocationally and academically. Some of the services include job readiness training, paid work experience opportunities, communication skills training, individual career plans, assistance in obtaining a high school diploma or GED, and access to other resources needed for future success. Offered in partnership with other community organizations, these programs walk students through the steps of self-discovery and get them on the path to vocational and educational success. Email to learn more.

Crosby Scholars Community Partnership

The Crosby Scholars Community Partnership is an affiliate organization of Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina. The two organizations have shared goals in that Crosby Scholars helps remove barriers to college and Goodwill helps remove barriers to employment – lack of education is increasingly becoming the primary barrier to employment.  Crosby Scholars currently serves Forsyth, Iredell, and Rowan Counties. Visit www.crosbyscholars.org for more information.

Foster Youth Programs

Goodwill partners with Buncombe County Health and Human Services to offer the ECHO program, designed to help foster youth build a network of relevant services to establish ongoing connections with family, friends, mentors, the community, employment, education, financial assistance, skills training, and other resources to facilitate the transition to adulthood. Email or call 828-298-9023 for more information.

NextGen Youth Services

In partnership with the Piedmont Triad Regional Workforce Development Board, Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, and Goodwill Industries of Central NC, the NextGen Youth Program aims to provide a structure and sense of accomplishment in the lives of youth served. The program is comprised of two main components: education and employment. Completion of a secondary education program is the primary goal. Staff members also provide post-secondary education counseling and career preparation guidance. NextGen serves youth ages 16-24 in Buncombe, Caswell, Davie, Forsyth, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Transylvania, and Yadkin Counties.

Triad: visit ptrc.org or call 336-464-0520
WNC: visit mountainareaworks.org or call 919-251-7473