The Commission on Workforce Development made available a planning grant opportunity to support the foundational development of Regional Skills Partnerships (RSP) in the allied health industry sector. Regional Skills Partnerships address workforce issues in a specific industry sector with a dual purpose of increasing that sector’s competitiveness while creating employment and career advancement opportunities for workers. For more information about this initiative, contact Brandon Comeaux at bcomeaux@nccommerce.com.

Seven Allied Health Regional Skills Partnerships received planning grants.  Click on

 AH RSP Map

to see the geographic locations of the AH RSP grantees. Click on

 AHRSP Report.pdf

for a report and recommendations on the planning phase of this initiative.

North Carolina’s first Career Readiness Certificates (CRC) were issued in 2005.  Supported by the Commission on Workforce Development, the CRC initiative promotes individual career development and skills attainment and confirms to an employer that an individual possesses the basic workplace skills of reading, applied math and information locating.  More information can be found at the Career Readiness Certificates website.  For questions, contact Stephanie Deese at deeses@nccommunitycolleges.edu.

North Carolina's Incumbent Workforce Development Program broadens the scope of the state's existing incumbent worker initiative. The program provides funding to established North Carolina businesses to provide educational and occupational skills training for current workers.  For more information, visit the Incumbent Worker Program section.  For questions, contact Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com.

Regional collaboration is important for most issues critical to the Workforce Commission.  Labor market activities are not confined by geographic or jurisdictional boundaries.  Recognizing the importance of creating regionalism as a core value within the workforce investment system, the Commission made this grant opportunity available to encourage Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB) to join with other local boards and economic and workforce partners to strategically plan in a regional manner.  The desired outcome of this grant is the development of processes and infrastructures that will formalize regional collaboration. 

For more information on the experiences, products and recommendations of this initiative, see the following report:

 RCPG Report.pdf

Together with its nine local areas, the Division of Workforce Development partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor and the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiative to launch the SHARE Network North Carolina, making N.C. the ninth state to join this initiative.  SHARE Network enhances and expands the Commission’s JobLink system by strengthening the links between the public, government agencies, faith-based organizations, and community organizations.  SHARE is comprised of two components:  an On-Line Resource Directory and Access Points.  For additional information please visit the N.C. SHARE Network website or contact Linda Strong at lstrong@nccommerce.com. 

North Carolina was awarded a U. S. Department of Labor and Social Security Administration grant in 2007 to provide resource information and support to North Carolina’s JobLink Career Center system. This initiative includes 45 states and serves to develop new/ongoing partnerships to achieve seamless, comprehensive and integrated access to services and expand the national workforce development system’s capacity to serve customers with disabilities and employers. The Disability Program Navigators assist JobLink Career Centers through staff development training, fostering business and agency relationships to facilitate job placements and serving as resources on Social Security Administration and other relevant federal, state and local programs  connecting persons with disabilities and opportunities to enter and retain employment.  For additional information please go to the Disability Program Navigator page or contact William Johnson at wjohnson@nccommerce.com

The North Carolina State of the Workforce Report projects the state's labor market demand and supply during the next decade. The report identifies several key issues that will likely arise given current trends and if there were no major economic shifts. While we cannot control all of the factors that influence our economic future, we could make policy choices to influence our direction. The report identifies several key facts about the industry's workforce needs and available talent that have potentially significant implications for the State's future economic prosperity. Our policy choices can influence or mitigate these facts. If you have questions or comments, contact Beth Lucas at blucas@nccommerce.com.  

 NC State of the Workforce Executive Summary 

 NC State of the Workforce Final Report 

  NC State of the Workforce Data Appendices 

 State of the Workforce Powerpoint Presentation  

 Policy Questions Brochure.pdf   

 Policy Questions Booklet.pdf 

 Regional Forums Final Feedback.pdf

A US Department of Labor initiative called Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED funded a limited number of regions in the nation where educational institutions, companies, governments, and workforce and economic development organizations could partner to create innovative national demonstration projects to transform and rebuild their regional economies. 

In February 2006, the Piedmont Triad Partnership was awarded a three-year, $15 million grant to help the region transition from its traditional economy based on textiles, apparel, furniture and tobacco to a new economy based on several growing industry clusters.  North Carolina was one of 13 regions awarded the grant out of 100 proposals submitted from across the nation.  Visit the Piedmont Triad Partnership's website and learn about the  WIRED Works Final Report highlighting outcomes of the WIRED Initiative.  For questions, contact Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com.