Two-year community colleges are a vital link to economic development. And North Carolina is viewed as a model for states wishing to attract new industries by providing a skilled work force.

• Two-year schools can encourage young and old workers alike, proponents say, to pursue education beyond high school without requiring the time and expense of a four-year college degree.

• North Carolina has become a leader by offering free custom-training of workers in the skills a company needs -- while not neglecting liberal arts studies.

• States such as California, South Carolina, Texas and Florida have followed North Carolina in developing large community college systems devoted to training and retraining workers in such areas as telecommunications, auto-parts, electronics, plastics and metal working, as well as customer-service and financial positions.

A study by North Carolina State University revealed that hourly wages of 2,600 of the states community college graduates rose an inflation-adjusted 9 percent to 17 percent in the four years after leaving school.

Source: Fred R. Bleakley, "To Bolster Economies, Some State's Rely More on Two-Year Colleges," Wall Street Journal, November 26, 1996.