The NCWorks Commission has approved and endorsed seven regional plans to help people prepare and train for work.
NCWorks Certified Career Pathways are education and training plans designed by employers in collaboration with the state’s workforce development and education professionals. Certified career pathways are being developed for high-demand jobs in many industry sectors to assist students and adults including individuals who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own to prepare for careers in the most efficient way. Career pathways outline and define the following:
• Necessary courses at the high school and college level
• Required credentials
• Experience required and employers in the area who provide work-based learning activities related to that field
• Various certificates and degrees in the related field
Each pathway must be approved by the commission, which signed off on seven new pathways during its quarterly meeting on Wednesday, November 9, in Raleigh.
“People need to know the skills and credentials they’ll need to be successful in their chosen careers,” said Will Collins, executive director of NCWorks. “That’s why these career pathways are so important. Employers lead the way by working with our workforce and education agencies to provide the skill and training workers need to meet industry demands.”
Three pathways were developed for Caswell, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnson, Person, Vance, Wake, and Warren counties. The Capital Area, Kerr-Tar, and Durham workforce development boards also worked on those pathways, which cover information technology, advanced manufacturing, and health sciences, respectively.
A second advanced manufacturing pathway was developed for Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrell, Washington, and Wilson counties. This process was facilitated by the Northeastern, Region Q, and Turning Point workforce development boards.
The Mountain Area Workforce Development Board helped develop an advanced manufacturing pathway for Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties.
Region C Workforce Development Board helped create an advanced manufacturing pathway for Cleveland, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford counties.
A nursing pathway was developed for Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties. This pathway was developed with the help of the Northwest Piedmont, DavidsonWorks, Guilford County, and Regional Partnership workforce development boards.
The commission has approved a total of nine certified career pathways in 2016.
NCWorks
Governor Pat McCrory’s goal of the NCWorks initiative is to create a stronger alignment of state and local services and resources to meet the workforce needs of businesses, connect North Carolinians to technical training and quality careers, and use data to monitor and assess program outcomes. Groups implementing NCWorks include N.C Commerce’s Workforce Solutions team, the NCWorks Commission, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, and the North Carolina Community College System. For more information about NCWorks, visit nccommerce.com/ncworks.