Jeff Faircloth set to step away from leading GTCC’s automotive, SkillsUSA programs after 30 years
Published on: December 16, 2024
Jeff Faircloth’s career at Guilford Technical Community College has been all about teaching students skills in automotive and other trades. It’s also been about building the college’s SkillsUSA program to be one of the best among community colleges in North Carolina.
Faircloth will turn off his office lights for the final time on Dec. 18, ending a 30-year career at GTCC. For a good part of those 30 years, he has been the department chair for the automotive, diesel, collision, and turfgrass programs.
“I’m going to miss a lot of things,” Faircloth said of his pending retirement. “I’m certainly going to miss the interaction with students. I’m certainly going to miss my co-workers. We have become like family. I’m definitely going to miss that.”
As much as he is going to miss his time at GTCC, Faircloth knew it was the right time to step away.
“On paper, I have 30 years (at GTCC). I just felt like it was time. I’ve been doing it for such a long time … I’m getting older, and I want to slow down,” he said. “I want to do some other things, travel and whatnot, before I get too old.”
Whoever takes over will inherit a solid body of work that Faircloth built. The multi-faceted program has grown exponentially under his guidance. The one area Faircloth may be most proud of is SkillsUSA, a program he has overseen for most of his time at GTCC.
SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers, and middle-school, high-school, and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. Through its local, state, and national competitions, students demonstrate occupational and leadership skills.
In July, GTCC students claimed four silver medals and one bronze in the 60th National SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta. Earlier in the spring, GTCC won 16 first-place awards and seven second-place awards in the SkillsUSA North Carolina state competition.
“SkillsUSA is definitely a life-changing experience for a lot of students,” said Faircloth. “It brings out the best in a lot of students. It shows them what they can do, that they can be a part of something bigger. It hones their skills. They do something they didn’t think they could do.”
Faircloth said when he arrived at GTCC, there “may have been a half-dozen students competing in three or four contests.” That number has grown to over 100 each year with 12 to 15 students advancing to the national competition annually.
“I’d say there have been thousands of GTCC students who have competed in various contests at the state and national level,” noted Faircloth. “The crowning achievement for me was in 2004 when one of my students, DeVane Burnett Jr., won first place in automotive post-secondary at the national conference in Kansas City, Missouri. That was the only time my wife, Karen, traveled to nationals.”
GTCC’s SkillsUSA achievements sparked a wave of excellence across the North Carolina Community College System.
“Other community colleges have gotten involved when they have seen what it can do for the students,” said Faircloth, noting success fueled a competition against GTCC.
“A lot of schools go to state to try and beat Guilford Tech. We were the premier community college in SkillsUSA (at the state level) for several years. We won everything at the state level. The competition has gotten stronger. It changed dramatically, and overall, the success has gone up.”
Faircloth says staying abreast of technological advancements has been the toughest job he has faced in his tenure.
“Technology has changed so much over the years that we’ve had to step up and bring that technology to the classroom,” said Faircloth, who along with his administrative duties, teaches first-year automotive classes.
“We have to help prepare students to be successful out there in the real world.”
And it’s in the real world that Faircloth gets the biggest payoff for his 30 years at GTCC.
“Nothing makes you feel better than seeing a student, who maybe once was struggling, succeed to win state and go to the nationals and finish on the podium,” said Faircloth. “Nothing warms my heart more than to go to the grocery store and run into a student who is successful, making a good living, having a family, and being productive.”
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