ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WNCN) — Nash Community College, off U.S. 64 in Rocky Mount, will soon be front and center.

“I am tickled to death to really host the president in Rocky Mount,” mentioned Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson.

Friday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will visit the campus.

They will tour training facilities, hear from students, and discuss the president’s Investing in America agenda.

The White House said Thursday that the plan focuses on training and workforce development with the goal of helping people get good-paying jobs.

“The traditional way of looking at it was ‘gosh I got to go to college, and I got to get a degree and I got to go somewhere and that becomes the start of my career.’ Today, it is really about certifications,” Roberson explained.

Trained and certified workers are something Roberson said helps attract companies to the area.

“We have approximately $54 billion in the pipeline in terms of opportunity in our development plan right now. Those are projects we talked to people in the last 42 days about,” he stated. “We don’t have the capacity to build them all out tomorrow. But the number one thing they ask is, where are the employees going to come from?”

He hopes a majority of that potential workforce can come from the community he represents.

“What it means to me in a community like Rocky Mount is if we can help engage a large unemployed population. Along with folks who are graduating and identifying folks in middle school and high school (and) allow them to see that advanced manufacturing creates career paths now,” Roberson said.

Democratic Congressman Don Davis, who represents the first congressional district, said in a statement:

“The president’s visit to eastern North Carolina is monumental because we often feel overlooked. Good-paying jobs are our lifeline, and I look forward to highlighting our needs and the significance of investments in education and workforce development to ensure a brighter future in the east. We must work daily to ensure the American dream is within reach for eastern North Carolinians.”

North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley said in an interview with CBS17’s Russ Bowen on Thursday that he doesn’t respect Biden’s agenda. He also stated his visit is more about photo-ops than substance.