Career counselor Sarah Wilson helps students shine at Skilled Trades Connect

For 21 years, Sarah Wilson has been impacting the lives of students as a career counselor at Central Piedmont Community College. Among her major projects each year is preparing them for Skilled Trades Connect. The February hiring event puts students in skilled trades programs face-to-face with potential employers at Central Piedmont’s Harper Campus.  

“My role with student preparation is helping students feel comfortable with talking to employers about their skill set, whether it is in a 30-second introduction, an elevator pitch, or an interview,” Sarah says. “I want every student to feel comfortable doing that. I want every student to feel really excited about their résumé because they have skills. It's just putting them into a format that's going to speak to our area employers. That's what I focus on with this event, and I do that through a variety of avenues.”

A Charlotte native, Sarah received her master's degree in counseling in Ohio. She then returned to the Queen City, excited to help teach students the skills needed to be desirable in the workforce. She remembers her first day at Central Piedmont and feeling like she “hit the lottery.”  

Helping improve lives in such a diverse student population drew her to the college.     

"Our instructors at Central Piedmont are providing students with high-quality instruction in the classroom, so they are coming out of their programs with marketable skills," she says. “The opportunity to work with them so that they understand how to translate that into employer language and take that into the job market is a really rewarding career.”

One of the many ways she does that is through Skilled Trades Connect, which Sarah is quick to point out is a collaborative effort among faculty, staff, and leadership.

The event has evolved from a tradeshow format in its earliest incarnation to the hiring event it is today. In 2026, the focus is on the five skilled trades housed at Harper Campus — HVAC, construction management, electrical, non-destructive examination, and welding.

The event consistently gets positive feedback from students, faculty, and employers, due in no small part to the human element.

“With all the online applications, sometimes it can be hard to meet up with an employer in person,” Sarah says. “This event allows students to do that. It allows employers to meet our students and our graduates and connect with great results.”

Sarah has developed many relationships through the program. She fondly recalls one event in which a student she had worked with sought her out, eager to explain they were now representing a company hiring there. 

Sarah has worked in a variety of capacities with the event over the years, but her favorite part is what happens beforehand — whether it’s visiting classrooms or meeting with students individually.

“The day of the event is amazing, but I also love the preparation that goes into it,” she says.

In her more than two decades at Central Piedmont, Sarah has been a positive influence on countless students.

“I feel very grateful to have a job that allows me to make a difference in the lives of other people, and it provides meaning in my own life,” she says. “Thank you to Central Piedmont for that.”