Ivanka Trump visits Mooresville before observing Florence aftermath

MOORESVILLE, NC (WBTV) - Daughter of President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, made two stops in Mooresville Wednesday before heading to eastern North Carolina to observe damage from Hurricane Florence.

The White House made the announcement of Ivanka’s visit earlier this week.

Trump started the engines up at the NASCAR Technical Institute Tuesday, while also starting a conversation about trade jobs. She joined some of racing’s most famous faces at the mechanical school in Mooresville, taking a tour of the facilities alongside Richard Childress and Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon, as well as North Carolina congressmen Richard Hudson and Ted Budd.

The first daughter got an up-close look at the institute’s operation, speaking with students developing their skills under the hood. The NTI students Trump met Tuesday are just the types of tradespeople that she says are in the highest demand in America’s workforce today.

“The number of vacant jobs in this country exceeds the number of unemployed people, well that represents an enormous opportunity,” Trump said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Experts say the skilled labor shortage is likely due to a combination of high unemployment during the recession, industry veterans on their way out of the workforce, and many young people focused on four-year degrees instead of blue-collar careers.

Madison Conrad graduated from NTI and is now working in the racing industry. She spoke on Tuesday’s panel with Trump, and says she saw technical school as fast-track opportunity to a job she loves, and hopes others see the same potential.

“I think a lot of people think that engineering is the way to go, but four-year schools aren’t for everybody and there’s such a need for people who are just ready to go, ready to go into the work force as soon as they get out of school,” Conrad said.

Ivanka Trump believes its people like Madison, that are going to thrust our country’s economy forward.

At 12:15 p.m., Ivanka stopped by Mooresville Fire Station #5 on Balmy Lane, to talk with search and rescue members.

Ivanka will then head to eastern North Carolina to tour hurricane damage.