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NORTH CAROLINA

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SYSTEM

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58 campuses with 165 remote campuses means a 30-minute drive (or less) to a campus for nearly every North Carolinian

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EMPOWERING NORTH CAROLINA’S WORKFORCE

Community colleges play a crucial role in North Carolina being named America’s Top State for Business in 2022 and 2023, and here’s why:

WORKFORCE

STUDENTS

125 new registered apprenticeship programs serving 13,000+ apprentices
43,000+ entrepreneurs attend trainings through Small Business Center Network
Nearly 300 active NCEdge Customized Training Projects

NC Community Colleges serve nearly 600,000 students annually across 58 institutions
10% increase in workforce continuing education enrollment.

NC Community Colleges support nearly 320,000 jobs in our communities
Nearly 80% of students stay and work in the communities where they learn
NC Community Colleges total annual impact is $19.3 billion.

COMMUNITY

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Small Business Center Network

ApprenticeshipNC

BioNetwork

NC Edge

43,000+

entrepreneurs attend business trainings annually

645

average number of businesses we help start annually

170%

ROI on apprenticeship programs for employers

Active Workforce Development

13,000+

apprentices supported each year

29,924

Individuals trained

Upskills employees to keep pace with business trends and unlock their potential

Nearly 800

life sciences companies in NC

Established in 2003 as the life sciences training initiative of the System – designs and delivers training

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EMBRACING THE FUTURE:

A CALL TO ACTION FOR AI INTEGRATION

Rapid technological change is driving the need for stronger collaboration in education and workforce development.

Today's event creates a launchpad for North Carolina's AI-driven future, bringing together key stakeholders to shape a resilient and adaptable workforce.

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TECHNOLOGY WILL TRANSFORM THE WAY WE WORK AND LEARN

We have the opportunity to create a future-proof workforce in North Carolina

COLLABORATION

ADAPTABILITY

How are we defining disruption across industry sectors?

DISRUPTION

How are we demonstrating adaptability within our partnerships?

How are we committing to build a “future-proofed” workforce?

Advancing Technology is Transforming Work and Learning�

Embracing Disruption�"The emergence of transformational technologies like AI, robotics, and automation will have disruptive impacts across nearly every sector. It’s our responsibility to ensure that our state leads, defines, adapts, and thrives in this new landscape."

Adaptability—how can we demonstrate how adaptable each of us can be to leverage advancing technologies to increase our efficiency and effectiveness and how can we ensure we are creating a future-proofed workforce in North Carolina?"

Imperative for Collaboration�The pace of technological change is accelerating, and it is absolutely imperative for education and industry to work together more closely than ever before.

Today’s Journey�"Today’s event is more than just a discussion; it’s the beginning of a journey that has the potential to shape North Carolina’s future in a technology-centered economy.” (NEXT)

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DEVELOPING HIGH-GROWTH, HIGH-WAGE PATHWAY PIPELINES

Propel NC program development

Ensure credentials are industry recognized

Connect skills to future career pathways

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REGIONAL LABOR MARKET ANALYSIS REPORTS

Beta Edition

https://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/students/labor-market-analysis-data/

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Prosperity and Sub Prosperity Zones

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Prosperity and Sub Prosperity Zones

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Prosperity and Sub Prosperity Zones

25%

9%

7%

5%

4%

3%

2%

4%

1%

27%

Sub Prosperity Zone

Share Of Statewide

Employment, 2022

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Employment by Industry

Employment Distribution by Industry, 2021

Industry is the type of business activity at�a person's place�of work

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Employment by Industry

Employment Distribution by Industry, 2021

49%

31%

Industry is the type of business activity at�a person's place�of work

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Employment by Industry

Projected Hickory SPZ Employment Net Growth by Industry, 2021-2030

7%
14%
8%
12%
5%
14%
5%
7%
12%
5%
6%
7%
3%
6%
5%
1%
5%
8%
-1%
-10%
-8%

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Employment by Occupational Area

Hickory SPZ Employment Distribution by Occupational Area, 2021

Occupational Area is the kind of work a person does for�the business

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Employment by Occupational Area

Hickory SPZ Employment Distribution by Occupational Area, 2021

50%

39%

Occupational Area is the kind of work a person does for�the business

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Employment by Occupational Area

Projected Hickory SPZ Employment Net Growth by Occupational Area, 2021-2030

6%
13%
9%
9%
10%
11%
8%
12%
10%
3%
9%
13%
10%
8%
4%
11%
2%
14%
5%
9%
-1%
-1%

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Employment by Occupation

Estimated Hickory SPZ Annual Openings by Occupation, 2021-2030

Top 25 Occupations Where Community College Credential or Bachelors Degree is Required or Preferred

	Community College Credential is required or preferred

	Bachelors Degree is required

	Hickory SPZ Median Earnings >$40,000

Median Earnings
$36,400
$50,249
$24,829
$32,247
$48,779
$90,824
$34,104
$38,778
$36,442
$40,868
$60,164
$65,969
$44,283
N/A
$36,587
$47,989
$33,818
$68,157
$23,118
$39,856
$34,891
$38,921
$54,685
N/A
$24,481

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Employment by Occupation

Estimated Hickory SPZ Annual Openings by Occupation, 2021-2030

Top 25 Occupations Where Community College Credential or Bachelors Degree is Required or Preferred

Hickory SPZ Median Earnings >$40,000

	Community College Credential is required or preferred

	Bachelors Degree is required

Median Earnings
$50,249
$48,779
$90,824
$40,868
$60,164
$65,969
$44,283
$47,989
$68,157
$54,685

	Community College Credential is required or preferred

	Bachelors Degree is required

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BUILDING LOCAL PATHWAYS AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY

Local need, high growth, high wage

Catawba Valley Furniture Academy

Three existing academies, on more to launch soon w Catawba Correctional Center
Beginning wages $17-22/hr
CVCC has well over 40 business and community partners supporting our academies and hiring our graduates.
We still have 100% record of students graduating in good standing will receive a job offer.

Caldwell CC Logistics Program

Over 400 graduates a year
Avg. Salary = $60,000
Currently partner with 8 other community colleges from Haywood County to Columbus County
Truck driving is an expensive program to start and maintain so collaboration is key to meeting the workforce needs across the state
Employers are involved and present to each class- students have the opportunity to meet and engage with 8-10 recruiters for future employment

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CAREER PATHWAY EVOLUTION

How can we predict the likely changes to job tasks?

Durable Career and Automation Risk Determination Model

Future-Proofing Our Workforce�"The Jobs for the Future (JFF) Durable Career and Automation Risk Determination Model is a crucial piece of our strategy. It helps us focus on future-proofing our workforce by identifying careers that are both resilient to automation and susceptible to automation risk—

Embedding Durable Skills into Curriculum�All future careers will require durable skills like critical thinking, creativity, and social intelligence. These are the skills that technology cannot easily replace. By embedding them into our curriculum, we ensure that our students are not only prepared for today’s job market but are also protected from displacement as automation advances."

We must all begin the think about the necessity of Lifelong Learning to remain competitive.

The days of going through K12, going to college, getting a degree and then working the rest of your life are over. The pace of change is too great. What we learn today will be outdated in a few years if not months. We must help students understand the imperative of investing in lifelong learning to remain competitive and maintain job security."

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CAREER PATHWAY EVALUATION

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THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA

Adaptive Learning, Tech Integration, and Future Ready Skills

How can community colleges best update curricula to align with emerging AI technologies and future job markets?

When I think about the pivotal role of community colleges in preparing students for an AI-driven future, it is critical to highlight the need for strategic alignment with industry partners to understand and design learning programs that flex with technological advancements.

Workforce Planning: Create systems, tools, platforms, and practices that support assessment and reshaping of jobs and training pathways to prepare for ongoing AI-driven evolution. As jobs are changing, we must keep up to ensure our graduates have the right skill set for tomorrow, not yesterday. How will the role of a nurse change with the use of Generative AI over the next five years? How can we adapt our curriculum and equipment to stay current?

We must support public policies for business and workforce systems transformation, new skill and talent development offerings, and upskilling workers to transition seamlessly between jobs or even careers.

We must collaborate with public and private partners, including employers, workforce boards, learners, and workers to assess talent needs and co-create skills development offerings and pipelines; engage cross-industry collaboration on AI-workforce development.

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Future-Proofing Our Workforce

Transformative Mindset

Implement innovative ideas and formulate proactive strategies in response to change.

Apply problem-solving techniques and maintain focus on continuous learning for life.

Transferrable Skills

Connect strong communication and collaboration abilities, fostering effective teamwork.

Apply concepts of critical thinking and adaptability.

Technology Talented

Integrate the uses of relevant technologies and tools within and across disciplines.

Analyze emerging technologies, staying at the forefront of industry advancement.

Interpersonal and Discipline Competence

T-Shaped Professional. Future Ready.

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PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT

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Parting Thoughts:

Examining the Role of Disruption

National Context

1

2

3

Where is most disruption likely and how do we prepare for it?

Rate of change varies, but it will be much faster than historical disruptions of automation and globalization.

What does a collective perspective help us achieve that we cannot do alone?

How can we ensure optimal alignment of K12, CC’s, universities, business and industry and other partners?

Community College Context

Partner Perspectives

What changes must we make to teaching and learning and curriculum more broadly?

Ensure short-term workforce credentials stack to degrees and high-wage career mobility.

We know the disruption is coming—where will it hit the hardest and how do we prepare for the impact? Our community colleges have historically been known for being nimble and flexible—we are going to be challenged to keep moving at the speed of business as change continues to accelerate.

How must we change the way we are teaching and students are learning to equip future employees with the skills our business & industry partners need them to have?

Finally, how do we collaborate to ensure we have a seamless pathway from K-12 through community colleges into the workforce or into a university on the way to employment? None of us can do this work in isolation from our other partners.

I am going to turn it over to Cecelia Holden to pose a question to you all to discuss at your tables. Thank you all for being here today and leaning into this work with us to ensure North Carolina’s workforce is the best in the country! Please join me in welcoming the president & CEO of MyFutureNC, Cecelia Holden!

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Table Activity

Which industries in your region do you think are most resilient or most vulnerable to advancing technology, and what changes are needed in education and training to prepare the future workforce?