CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Micheal Norman, founder and president of the Global Vocational Training Center is doing his part to help uplift his own community that he says is broken. His solution to begin fixing the issues is to educate, empower and employ.
“I see the poverty and lack of education and I believe that trade is the quickest way to bring a community and an individual out of poverty,” Norman said.
After serving some jail time and falling down on his luck many years ago, he decided to take control of his destiny and start his own electrical business. The success of that business later led him to open the Global Vocational Training Center in East Charlotte. The school is free for students and includes books. Those who are enrolled also get hands-on experience, financial training and $300 worth of tools once they graduate.
Norman’s motto—educate, empower and employ. He says many of the vocational graduates are the embodiment of this.
“I love my electrical job I really do,” graduate Martin Phillips said. “It just gives me the chance to go out there and get my job done and I feel good about it.”
Fellow graduate Tray Latten agrees.
“I felt like I needed to make a change and try something new,” Latten said. “It provides for me and my family and that’s the major thing of it all.”
Norman says his goal is to eventually expand the Global Vocational Training Center to cities all across the country so these same opportunities of success can be given to so many others.
“You can walk out of your door and go straight to school,” Norman said. “Now you got a trade that you can get so you have no reason to do drugs, you have no reason to do go into crime.”