The Division of Workforce Development, in conjunction with the Governor's office, is pleased to announce 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 Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com.

For grant application, see:

 Guidelines for Applying for Allied Health Regional Skills Partnership Planning Grant   

 AH RSP Guidelines

 Characteristics of Sector Initiatives

Seven Allied Regional Skills Partnerships received planning grants.  To see the geographic locations of the AH RSP grantees, please see:

 AH RSP Map

Bidders' conference information:

 Bidders' Conference Presentation

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 than 500 job seekers qualified for the certificates signed by Governor Michael Easley.  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.

The New Opportunities for Workers (NOW) program helps dislocated workers become entrepreneurs.  NOW is a collaborative effort of the Division of Workforce Development, the N.C. Small Business Center Network and N.C. REAL Enterprises.  Together, they devised a program of training and encouragement for dislocated workers who dream of starting and running a business.

NOW was piloted in 2004 at 13 community colleges.  It was immediately expanded to 22 community colleges, serving 43 counties.  Sponsors report that 72 dislocated workers have started a new business this past year.  The businesses range from electrical contracting and HVAC repair to baking, child care, website development, construction, hair braiding, a parcel shipping franchise and auto repair.

Another 39 NOW participants already operated businesses, mostly on a part-time basis, and had sought help making those operations more profitable.  For additional information about NOW, visit the N.C. Rural Center.

In October 2008, more than 800 workforce professionals gathered for the N.C. Workforce Development Conference.  Sponsored by the N.C. Commission on Workforce Development, the event provided over 65 workshops and training opportunities on topics such as case management, business services and economic development partnerships.

Information about the 2009 conference is available through the Workforce Development Training Center.  For questions, contact Robbin Broome at rbroome@nccommerce.com.

Helping Employers and Labor Transition to Healthcare (HEALTH) is designed to address North Carolina’s shortage of registered nurses and direct care workers by increasing faculty at the community college level.  In PY 2005, nine Project HEALTH fellows graduated with a Masters of Science Degree in Nursing and now serve as teachers in a N.C. Community College.  Each fellow was required to teach for a designated period of time.  This program allows colleges to offer more health-related courses and produce more qualified health-care workers.  For questions, contact Stephanie Deese at deeses@nccommunitycolleges.edu.

Regional collaboration is important for most issues critical to the Workforce Commission.  Labor market activities are not confined by geographic or jurisdictional boundaries.  Our workforce investment system must recognize and adapt to these labor market realities.  There are multiple efforts underway to support regionalism as one of the core components of creating better outcomes for employers, workers, and the emerging workforce.  This grant is one effort to provide incentives and support for regional planning. 

Recognizing the importance of creating regionalism as a core value within the workforce investment system, the Commission is making 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 go to:  Grant Guidelines

Six collaborations of local workforce development boards were awarded planning grants, effective September 1, 2007 to November 30, 2008.

 Approved Regional Collaboration Planning Grants Listing.doc

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. 

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 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, by any means, 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

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao sent a letter to the nation’s Governors in November 2005 announcing a new initiative called Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED.

As part of this initiative, the Department of Labor initiative would fund 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. 

Governor Michael Easley directed the staff of the N.C. Commission on Workforce Development to assist in the selection of candidates for submission.

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.  For more information visit the Piedmont Triad Partnership's website.  For questions, contact Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com.