Community college enrollment is up — way, way up — but where are the jobs for future graduates?

With any luck, the kind of jobs that the Triangle most needs are waiting in the wings. This week, the Durham City Council prepared a $69,905 incentive offer for ACW Technology Ltd.

The British electronics manufacturer is heading to the region — somewhere — and dragging 155 jobs behind it. Right now, Durham is in tight competition with Franklin County, which is offering $150,000 in incentives (matched by another $150,000 from the state, which is trying to help draw jobs to the poor, rural area). The state has offered a similar match to Durham, provided that the Bull City doesn’t bid past its needier cousin.

Most of the jobs aren’t lucrative by the area’s standards; 105 workers would make $23,718 per year, the minimum allowed by the city’s liveable-wage policy.

So, why the excitement?

Durham doesn’t have a problem attracting new industries and jobs per se, but these jobs are exactly what we need. Research Triangle Park has a knack for luring high-paying jobs for seriously educated people, but there is a deep and growing gap for Triangle residents without college or advanced degrees. Since 2007, Durham County has lost 6,432 jobs to the recession. Although 155 sounds like a comparative drop in the bucket, these are just the kinds of jobs we need, just when we need them.

The other good news is that, in the face of the economic downturn, many of those people are helping themselves, and in doing so may help the region’s economic development.

Spring enrollment at Durham Technical Community College is best described as standing room only. The college has 5,566 full-time students enrolled for the spring and had to turn away about 200 potential students who were clamoring for training in fast-growth fields, like health technology.

DTCC officials are linking the surge to unemployed adults seeking retraining — a good deal at $50 per credit hour, particularly with federal aid for full-time students.

Education broadens an individual’s options, but a large, educated workforce can only broaden our appeal to a wider range of investors and businesses.