Education and the Workforce

Introduction

Do North Carolinians need four-year degrees to be successful? According to projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the North Carolina Department of Commerce, employment opportunities may be more plentiful for those who decide to enter the workforce without a college degree than for those who do have one.

BLS analysts predict that jobs requiring a high school diploma, associate degree, or postsecondary certificate will be plentiful through 2034. The BLS lists hundreds of occupations that don’t require a four-year degree. Of the jobs requiring only a high school diploma, home health care and personal care aides are projected to have the most openings each year on average. The health care and social assistance field is “projected to have the largest job growth and be the fastest growing industry sector” (8.4 percent growth). The professional, scientific, and technical services sector (7.5 percent growth) and the information sector (6.5 percent growth) are also expected to see significant growth, largely due to demand for artificial intelligence.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce projects that nearly 60 percent of occupations will require “no formal education or only a high school diploma” by 2032. The department notes, however, that “[t]hrough 2032, jobs requiring higher education are projected to experience faster annual growth than those needing less education.” According to projections, the fastest-growing occupational sectors in North Carolina from 2022 to 2032 will include computer and mathematical occupations, health care services, and professional, scientific, and technical services.

In North Carolina, state policymakers have been placing an increased emphasis on workforce readiness. Over the last decade, the North Carolina General Assembly has passed laws to increase access to functional and practical career and technical education. These included the development of career and college endorsements for high school diplomas and bonuses for career and technical education teachers based on the number of students who earn state-approved industry certifications or credentials. In addition, lawmakers have encouraged greater collaboration between school districts and community colleges to increase the number of students enrolling in career and technical education in high-need employment areas.

During her tenure as state superintendent of public instruction, Catherine Truitt emphasized the importance of workforce development training in preparing students for college, a career, or military service. Truitt set four goals to promote greater alignment between the K–12 education system and workforce needs: preparing students for the workforce and cultivating the school-to-workforce pipeline; increasing access to postsecondary pathways leading to in-demand, high-wage careers; giving students and families the information necessary to make informed postsecondary plans; and advocating for career exploration opportunities and work-based learning for every student. Aligned with those goals, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction identified seven core competencies that all students should have when they graduate from high school so that they can “thrive in the 21st century,” including adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, a learner’s mindset, and personal responsibility.

A renewed focus on career and technical education is only a first step, but it is a welcome one for students, taxpayers, and employers. Students who are ill-prepared for college would avoid incurring massive student loan debt, and taxpayers would not be compelled to subsidize their pursuit of four-year degrees. Employers would enjoy a larger, arguably better-prepared pool of prospective employees. Furthermore, these students would have plentiful employment opportunities in North Carolina for years to come.

Key Facts

• Certain career and technical education students in 12th grade complete the ACT WorkKeys assessment. Scores help students determine if they have the skills needed for particular jobs or professions. In 2023–24, more than 43,000 North Carolina students took the WorkKeys assessment, and only 32 percent of them failed to earn above WorkKeys Bronze scores, the lowest of the four levels of credentials.
• The number of industry-recognized credentials earned by North Carolina students had been rising sharply in recent years but was negatively impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic, changes in federal law, and the decision to exclude WorkKeys credentials from the overall number of earned credentials since they are not aligned with a specific CTE (Career and Technical Education) course. During the 2010–11 school year, North Carolina students earned nearly 25,000 career and technical education credentials. By 2019–20, that figure had risen to 241,338 credentials. During the 2023–24 school year, students throughout the state earned 358,069 credentials, the highest number in 14 years.
• In 2023–24, career and technical education students throughout the state earned 53 percent of the credentials available to them.
• According to the Department of Public Instruction, more than 845,000 students across North Carolina participate in CTE courses.
• In February 2022, the Department of Public Instruction announced that it had partnered with Microsoft and Prodigy Learning to offer a “Coding in Minecraft” credential program to all middle-school students in North Carolina. The program is intended to help students develop coding skills, gain experience using programs like JavaScript and Python, and cultivate “durable skills,” such as creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.
• In October 2022, the State Board of Education adopted a policy designed to strengthen North Carolina’s Career and College Promise Program, which helps students earn college credits through local community colleges while they are still in high school. The State Board’s policy requires all school districts to “develop formal agreements with their community college partners addressing several factors found to improve both student participation and successful outcomes.
• In 2023, lawmakers introduced a bill that would have required middle- and high-school students who attend traditional public schools to put together a career development plan by the end of seventh grade and update it by the end of 10th grade. Charter schools would have been encouraged, but not required, to have their students complete career development plans as well. The bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House Rules Committee.
• Policymakers continue to work towards helping students be prepared for college or a career. Multiple bills have been filed in recent sessions of the General Assembly, but they have not had much traction. One of these would have established a workforce diploma program to help students 21 or older “obtain a high school diploma and develop employability and career and technical skills.” Another would have established a pilot program to study reviewing students’ career development plans annually so as to better prepare them for their future goals. A third would have required the community college board to work with the State Board of Education to align coursework with high school graduation requirements.
• Business leaders have also shown an interest in helping prepare students for the workforce. A 2024 toolkit from DPI and the NC Chamber Foundation aims to help business leaders connect with schools and students through field trips, internships, and other opportunities.

Recommendations

1. Starting in middle school, give public-school students opportunities to pursue vocational or advanced training in preparation for a career after graduation.

Career and technical education programs should start in middle school when many students lose interest in the traditional academic setting. It would give students ample time to change career and technical education program areas, obtain advanced skills in multiple areas, or switch to a college-preparatory course of study.

2. Ensure that community colleges and universities continue to invest scarce resources in professional training and degree programs that correspond to the needs of North Carolina’s workforce.

While not precluding support for other academic disciplines, funding priorities should, in part, reflect supply and demand for qualified workers in fields such as nursing, business management, accounting, teaching, and computer programming.

3. Strongly Encourage Apprenticeships.

Businesses and educational institutions should work together to customize work-based programs to meet their short and long-term needs.

4. Expand Access to Work-Based Programs.

There are several viable, work-based learning strategies that districts may offer to students interested in an industry or profession, including field trips, cooperative education, entrepreneurial experiences, internships, job shadowing, mentorships, school-based enterprises, and service-learning.