During a meet and greet in Haywood County Monday, Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Dan Forest stressed the importance of planning, collaboration and consensus building.

Forest advocated the need for a voter identification requirement in the state, the voters and the importance of education, specifically discussing the need to increase vocational schools to provide students the skills that employers are now seeking.

Since some youth do not pursue a college education, Forest said that consideration should be given to developing more in-depth technology curriculums at the high school level to provide more technical training. Also key to creating more is ensuring the state is business friendly, he added.