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Commissioners vote to sunset county journeyman licensing program
Summary
The board approved staff’s recommendation to end New Hanover County’s local journeyman program and align with North Carolina’s statewide licensing framework, a change staff said would reduce administrative burden while preserving public-safety oversight through state licenses and local code enforcement.
County staff presented April 20 a proposal to sunset New Hanover County’s local journeyman licensing program for electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades and update the county ordinance to conform with the state’s unified licensing and apprenticeship framework.
Tom Schultz, the presenter, said the local program originated when statewide licensing and training were inconsistent and that today North Carolina has a comprehensive training and licensing system. He said most counties now rely on the state system, and staff recommended discontinuing the local journeyman program to reduce administrative and legal burdens while maintaining public-safety protections through state licenses and local code enforcement.
Schultz said staff had met with trade boards, Cape Fear Community College and code officials; the electrical board favored updating the program while mechanical and plumbing boards supported sunsetting it. Commissioner Sandoval thanked staff and stakeholders for a deliberate process and noted the Department of Insurance had endorsed the change.
The board voted to approve the ordinance update and to move forward with a transition plan to communicate the change to affected workers and partner organizations.
