Business-Driven. Solution-Oriented.
Responding to the urgent workforce needs of our state’s employers and focusing on North Carolina’s future talent supply, the NC Chamber Foundation launched the business-driven Institute for Workforce Competitiveness in March 2022. North Carolina and the nation face workforce challenges, changes, and opportunities. The states that successfully address these issues will be best positioned for economic competitiveness.
The strength in the NC Chamber Foundation is its access to the very employers facing workforce challenges every day. With the formation of the Institute for Workforce Competitiveness, the NC Chamber Foundation will advance the quantity and quality of the state’s workforce.
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Areas of Focus:
The Institute for Workforce Competitiveness will focus on:
- Elevating successful workforce initiatives that can be scaled to serve more businesses and communities statewide.
- Training North Carolina’s next generation of workforce development leadership.
- The first two action items will later lead to non-partisan, data-driven, future-focused policy recommendations.
Course of Action:
Show and share what is working – The Institute will engage employers, educators, and workforce experts statewide to spotlight solutions for current workforce challenges: how businesses are building talent pipelines, collaborating with educators to close skills gaps, and strategically planning for workforce needs. The Institute will then determine how these proven programs can be replicated across North Carolina’s communities
Convene and connect – The Institute will convene stakeholders to align North Carolina’s workforce demands with workforce supply. In addition, the Institute will continue to train practitioners in Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) and connect them with support for expanding employer-led collaboratives, including access to grants for local/regional pipelines in specific industries and occupations.
Promote data-driven, future-focused policies – The Institute will develop a policy agenda and process that is directly responsive to business demands, emphasizing efficient and effective measures that increase the quality and quantity of North Carolina’s workforce.
In the News:
- Triangle Business Journal (7/18/22): North Carolina labor market solutions call for fostering collaboration between business and education
- WECT & WBTV (3/24/22): NC Chamber launches new initiative to develop, advance state’s workforce
- WRAL TechWire (3/23/22): NC Chamber Foundation names new president to lead Vision 2030 efforts
- Wilmington Biz (3/9/22): Amid Skilled Labor Mismatch, NC Chamber Launches New Institute
- Spectrum News Tying It Together Podcast (2/16/22): Reforming a century-old education system
- Triangle Business Journal (1/27/22): NC business, education leaders spotlight effort to fix state’s workforce woes
- Yahoo! News / The Robesonian (1/27/22): Truitt calls for sharper focus on workforce development in NC schools
- ABC 11 (1/26/22): NC leaders push for stronger workforce development in schools to help improve state’s economy
- CBS 17 (1/26/22): Tackling the future job market for K-12 students
- CBS 17 (1/26/22): State superintendent, president of NC Chamber to hold workforce conversation
- WRAL (1/26/22): NC leaders float more workforce training for high schoolers
- WRAL (1/26/22): Live discussion: How to prepare NC students for success after high school
- WRAL TechWire (1/26/22): NC Chamber Foundation launches new initiative to advance quantity, quality of NC’s workforce
- EdNC (1/26/22): State Superintendent, NC Chamber unveil plans to better link workforce and K-12
- Business North Carolina Podcast (1/25/22): The Weekly Roundup feat. Catherine Truitt & Gary Salamido