RICHARD CRAVER
News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.
(TNS)

JetZero's audacious $4.7 billion project to build the first blended-wing passenger aircraft comes with an overlapping three-legged challenge.

Trying to simultaneously build a headquarters and manufacturing campus, a projected 14,564-employee workforce at full production by the early 2030s, and an industry game-changing aircraft with the goal of demonstrator test flights taking off in 2027.

The fledgling manufacturer broke ground July 15 on its planned 8-million-square-foot campus at Piedmont Triad International Airport. The goal is producing up to 20 Z4 aircrafts per month.

Last week, JetZero took its initial workforce development step via a train-the-teacher summer camp at UNC Greensboro in partnership with Deloitte, Guilford County Schools, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and National Math and Science Initiative.

The Deloitte Believers program is designed to prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through classroom instruction and hands-on practical experience.

Since debuting in 2022, more than 35,000 students nationwide have gone through the program nationwide.

Marshall Matson, a GCS assistant superintendent, said between 3,500 and 5,000 students could benefit from the planned curriculum.

The UNCG workshops focused on hands-on robotics, artificial intelligence, engineering, computer science and classroom application strategies. Deloitte will provide support throughout the 2026-27 academic year.

"Extending the Believers program to Greensboro means local students will have real paths into the kinds of careers being built in their own backyard," said Brian Umbenhauer, Believers' program founder and an executive sponsor and principal with Deloitte.

JetZero's decision to partner with Deloitte came from the recognition "it is really important to develop a local talent pipeline early, whether in middle or high school, so they can envision a career pathway with JetZero or within the aviation industry," said Julie Felgar, JetZero's head of government affairs.

Felgar said JetZero's expectations with the Believers program is having local students acquire the skills they need by the time the manufacturer ramps up hiring in the 2028-29 timeframe.

Felgar said that after reviewing the Believers' initiatives in other industries, "we know that it works, that they have a proven foundational curriculum, a proven follow-up with the teachers and students. It's a game changer for us."

"They are as committed to the success of this program as we are."

The initial Believers rollout involves 20 teachers — two each from the 10 participating GCS schools — spending eight days of their summer at UNCG absorbing coding and programming skills from Deloitte instructors.

Although the initiative is designed to draw interest from current STEM-focused students, Matson said "it would be open to anyone starting from scratch."

Matson said the 20 teachers represent biology, environmental science, math, career and technical education who instruct on computer programming and manufacturing.

"They already are finding connections from the Believers program to their curriculum," Matson said. "They will work with the students in their classroom, as well as through clubs they run after school.

"What this program's attempting to do is take something that appears to be incredibly complicated, and breaking it down and making it very simple, meeting them where they are.

"If you can demonstrate to a student what their coding can do, such as with these robotics, and they can see the results — perhaps something really cool — it may spur something in them that may end up being a career in aviation, advanced manufacturing."

Felgar said that because "there will be a lot of AI, there will be a need for basic programming skills, an understanding of circuitry and how to use digital tools in our ecosystem."

Matson said GCS was attracted to the Believers initiative not just because of the JetZero hiring and training requirements.

"It fits in with the Guilford Guarantee — that every GCS student will graduate with at least a semester's worth of college credit or a meaningful industry-recognized credential or a meaningful work-based learning experience, like an internship or job shadowing," Matson said.

JetZero's Z4 aircraft is being marketed as the "world's first commercial blended wing-body airplane."

The aircraft is being designed to seat between 200 and 250 passengers, fly up to 5,000 nautical miles and is compatible with existing airport infrastructure and sustainable aviation fuel, the company has said.

The UNCG Deloitte workshops represent a component for "determining the JetZero way to manufacture the Z4 aircraft," said Blake Studer, the manufacturer's senior manager of Industrial Engineering.

The use of robotics to provide a visual response to coding and programming should appeal to students, Studer said.

"We're hoping to spur a passion for advanced manufacturing among local students that can last a lifetime," he said.

John Dowdy, a JetZero communications and public relations officer, said that blended wing body designs "have really been around since the 1930s."

"But it has not been technically feasible until recently to build something that you can put 250 people into because you now have composites to work with."

Dowdy said part of the appeal of working for JetZero is being on the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing technology.

"At our core, we're innovators, and we expect it will be easier for us to innovate on process and manufacturing than maybe some other aircraft manufacturers because we don't have to change a process that's already there," Dowdy said.

"With that new technology comes new opportunities for employee training, such as what we're doing here with Deloitte, UNCG and the school system."

The Believers initiative will have time to take root in part because JetZero's initial hiring push has been delayed for essentially a year.

In June, the state's Economic Investment Committee voted to allow JetZero to reduce its workforce targets for 2027 and 2028 and still qualify for annual state incentives.

The need for the amended incentives contract was $133.9 million in project funding being frozen awaiting approval of the 2026-27 budget that was signed into law on July 7 by Gov. Josh Stein.

The original goal was to have at least 1,047 employees by Dec. 31, 2027, to be fully eligible. The amended contract doesn't require any full-time or contract employees by the end of that year.

For 2028, JetZero's original hiring goal was to reach 1,917 to qualify for full incentives for that year. The amended requirement is 1,438.

JetZero said it would ramp up hiring during 2029 to achieve the original goal of at least 3,020 employees by Dec. 31, 2029.

Felgar said that with the Believers program laying an educational training pathway, "we're confident it will excite these students that careers in STEM are a great way to go, earn a great salary without having to go to a four-year university if they don't want to."

Another key consideration for the Believers program, Felgar said, is the reality of JetZero competing with other advanced manufacturers for about 20,000 job pledges, including Boom Supersonic, HondaJet, Siemens and Toyota Battery Manufacturing NC.

"There is going to be a lot of competition for workers, and we want to ensure we attract students so they can see what JetZero has to offer," Felgar said.

"When we say local community, we're thinking of all of North Carolina as we can."

Felger said Deloitte has plans to expand the Believers program to other high schools in North Carolina once the format is established.

"Deloitte also works with community college programs on workforce development, and we're working very closely with the community college programs on what our specific curriculum is going to need to be down the road."

"What's going to help us stand out among the advanced manufacturers is the excitement of what we're doing, the salaries of what we're going to be bringing in," Felger said.

As people gain advanced manufacturing skills, "of course, people are going to move from one company to another over time, that's completely standard and normal," Felger said.

"But what we're really hoping is that this program helps serve as a magnet for JetZero to pull the work force we're going to need in North Carolina, southern Virginia.

"The impetus is on us at JetZero to make it a super-exciting place to come and work, where employees are continuing to grow their skill sets, and they have an opportunity to do many different things throughout their career."

Tom O'Leary, JetZero's co-founder and chief executive, said the Deloitte Believers initiative will serve to help "keep the pipeline full" of future local employees.

"We need to invest in the next generation," O'Leary said.

"By bringing the Believers program to local schools, we're not just developing our future workforce, we're partnering with educators to give students hands-on STEM experiences that open doors to tomorrow's careers.

"Together, we're strengthening both our community's economy and its spirit of innovation."

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