North Carolina's Community Colleges are banding together now to prepare students for what they think is our future.

North Carolina is fueling a demand for green education. Jeremy Rushlow, a student at the Chatham County campus of Central Carolina Community College, left Michigan for Chatham County.

"I used to read biodiesel magazine ... and a small little article says ‘CCCC starts biofuels program.' I knew from that moment I'd be coming down here," Rushlow said.

Biofuels is just one sustainable technology taught at the Chatham County campus. An associate's degree is sustainable agriculture is also available.

Biofuels Coordinator Matthew McMahan said North Carolina will soon need an educated green collar workforce.

"Well paying jobs that are going to be here for the long run and not be able to be exported," McMahan said.

A new N.C. Community College System initiative called "Code Green" will extend those types of classes throughout the state explained system president Scott Ralls.

"We just see collectively over a group of 58 colleges, we can really help in moving the state forward as a leader," Ralls said.

To be a leader, Matthew Meyer -- with the system's Innovation and Biotechnology division -- says the program is working to identify green jobs, needs in the physical colleges and needs of companies currently in and looking to move to North Carolina.

"It's not a big leap into this green sector, it's how we package it and how we get specific with what these companies need," Meyer said.

Part of the need is in areas like energy for automobiles, construction and home heating, but the college system sees a green infusion in all types of classes.

"Think about a retrofitting company that could go into a subdivision and weatherize homes, well they're going to need someone to run it and that's our business majors," Meyer said.

The hope is a formula will entice people like Jeremy Rushlow and fuel North Carolina's future.

"I want to start a biodiesel and ethanol plant when I graduate," Rushlow said.