Officials from Gaston College and other North Carolina schools signed an agreement Monday to help offer textile job training to thousands of Honduran students.

The partnership, which has the backing of the U.S. and Honduran governments, aims to help create markets for U.S. goods as well as train Honduran students to work in textiles and discourage illegal immigration to the U.S.

The memorandum of understanding was signed Monday at Gaston College.

The initiative will launch a series of educational workforce development programs, ranging from training and certificate programs to undergraduate and graduate degrees, in textile-related areas of study.

The partnership comes at a time of historical levels of investment in textile and apparel production stemming from a global supply chain crisis that has driven a significant shift in sourcing out of Asia to the U.S. and the region.

Nearly $1 billion of historic textile and apparel investment is anticipated in the U.S. and Central America this year alone.

The partnership also creates a pathway to economic opportunity in Honduras and the region. If good jobs can be created in Honduras, it would also address the root causes of irregular migration to the U.S., supporters of the agreement said.

Current growth projections indicate a need for more than 10,000 new skilled workers in the textile industry in Honduras alone over the next five years.

North Carolina is the second largest state for textile employment nationally with more than 36,000 workers, and the state’s $2.7 billion in textile-related exports leads the nation. The Northern Triangle, including Honduras, is a major export destination for U.S. yarns and fabrics that come back as finished items under the U.S.-CAFTA-DR trade agreement.

“This is an incredible opportunity to build a partnership and bridge between U.S. educational institutions and UNITEC. Through this collaboration, we will develop education and workforce training programs that will support the vibrant textile and apparel co-production chain between Honduras and the United States,” John Hauser, president of Gaston College, said in a statement released by the National Council of Textile Organizations.

“The time is now to invest in the future of the textile and apparel industries, and Gaston College and Catawba Valley Community College look forward to playing a key role in training textile operators to support the impressive growth and investment in this critical sector,” Hauser said.

North Carolina State University and Catawba Valley Community College will also participate in the program.

You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016 or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston College agrees to bring textile job training to Hondurans