How the Good Jobs Economy initiative can help NC

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The Good Jobs Economy initiative and what it can mean for western North Carolina… How one institution is designing a student-ready college for the 21st century… Saving child care on college campuses… New report sheds light on how AI will change labor force needs… Wake Tech Provost shares how corequisite courses are helping students succeed in English and math… Classroom lessons from Vance-Granville’s program head of early childhood education… New study examines Teaching and Learning Hubs… ApprenticeshipNC’s 2024-25 annual report is out… The State Board of Community Colleges will meet this week… Plus, study abroad opportunity for community college students…

Hi all, Emily Thomas with Awake58.

This week, we’re talking about a new national initiative that hopes to connect residents to good jobs while helping employers access skilled talent.

America Achieves, a national nonprofit, recently launched the Good Jobs Economy initiative to partner with a bipartisan group of governors and other state and local leaders. The initiative is about building talent systems that work — helping “local communities and states ensure everyone has a clear path to a good job, no matter who they are, where they live, and whether or not they have a college degree.”

Jon Schnur, CEO of America Achieves, is known for his work in scaling economic mobility. Nationally, his goal is to have 10,000 people identified, trained, and hired into good jobs by 2030.

The National Governors Association (NGA) Chair’s Initiative has also issued a call to action, encouraging investment in people, strengthening state economies, and partnering with the Good Jobs Economy initiative. The new NGA Chair, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, along with Schnur, are encouraging states to consider establishing what are called “Good Jobs Funds” to support high-impact workforce solutions.

This initiative is especially timely for western North Carolina as it works toward recovery. Schnur spent part of this summer in the region, helping local community college leaders and state and national philanthropists dream big when it comes to recovery and the region’s future.

In this EdNC Read, Mebane Rash shares how Forsyth Technical Community College is ensuring the college is “student-ready” instead of expecting “college-ready students.” The piece looks at Forsyth Tech’s partnership with Reynolds American to launch a Future-Ready Workforce Alliance — a new initiative designed to close the skills gap, prepare workers for in-demand jobs, and strengthen the economy in Forsyth and Stokes Counties and across the region. Additionally, Rash explores how the college is making strategic plans for the future and how it got its new North Star. You can read the the full article on our website.

Davidson-Davie Community College is offering a study abroad opportunity for students enrolled in one of the state’s 58 community colleges. Participants will spend two weeks in Bordeaux, France, working, collaborating, and learning with students from IUT-University of Bordeaux. They will be housed in a dorm and attend classes or enrichment activities alongside French students in Bordeaux.

Davidson-Davie asks that students’ home colleges pay $1,000 for each student they send. Each student also pays $2,775. The total costs of the program is $3,775. The program fee includes flights, housing, insurance, ground transportation, daily programming, breakfast, and several additional meals.

Space is limited. Schools can request slots by emailing Sarah Wright at [email protected].

In other news, the State Board of Community Colleges will meet this week. You can find the agenda and Board meeting materials here. Stay tuned for EdNC’s coverage of the meeting.

Until next week,

Emily Thomas

Regional Director of Western North Carolina — EdNC.org

EdNC reads

Pathways to good jobs are important everywhere, but they are critical to recovery in WNC

The Good Jobs Economy has a practical, strategic framework that it uses to work with partners to modernize talent systems.

Step 1 | Generate ongoing labor market analyses that, by industry, include employer demand, talent supply, and priority gaps in specific jobs and skills;

Step 2 | Set and track measurable outcome goals, including attainment of good jobs, wage growth, and attainment of credentials of value;

Step 3 | Fund and scale programs and career pathways that are aligned to employer hiring needs for good jobs;

Step 4 | Build the capacity of industry partnerships and workforce intermediaries; and

Step 5 | Establish strong, adequately resourced governance structures.

‘Dream. Learn. Thrive.’ Designing a student-ready college for the 21st century

Janet Spriggs is the award-winning president of Forsyth Technical Community College, honored regionally as the Association of Community College Trustees Southern Region Chief Executive Officer of the Year and nationally as an Aspen Presidents Fellow. But it took Spriggs 12 years to get her first degree. Perhaps that more than anything explains how she leads and the newly announced vision, mission, and values of Forsyth Tech.

Forsyth Tech’s fall 2025 enrollment reached more than 10,000 students, the college’s highest headcount since 2013. A 2022 study found the community college has an annual economic impact of $400.4 million.

How much could AI change jobs? Indeed report sheds light on changing labor force needs

A new report from Indeed finds that a quarter of U.S. jobs could be “highly” transformed by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), but only 1% of skills can be independently executed by GenAI. The “AI at Work” report, published by Indeed Hiring Lab, concludes that the majority of the 53.5 million job postings analyzed are poised to be “moderately transformed” by GenAI. That means these jobs are unlikely to change drastically overnight, but will likely evolve meaningfully as the adoption of GenAI rises. The successful transformation of these jobs will depend on how employers adopt GenAI models and how employees adapt to new skills.

There’s a new push to save child care on college campuses

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Sen. Tammy Duckworth recently reintroduced a bill to dramatically grow the $80 million Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which awards four-year grants to about 260 colleges and universities to offer child care to low-income students, the lawmakers shared exclusively with The 19th. Duckworth and Clark have been reintroducing this legislation for almost a decade, but this year has brought new challenges.

Perspective | Scaffolding student success: How corequisite courses at Wake Tech support English and math success

The first key finding from this study is that Wake Tech students with low high school GPAs are 12% more likely to pass their gateway English and math courses with a grade of A, B, or C if they take corequisite support courses at the same time. That 12% represents hundreds of students who not only had earlier access to their gateway English and math classes, but also successfully completed their gateway English and math classes. When students take advantage of this early access and register for their gateway English and math in their first academic year, they benefit from “gateway momentum” that leads to higher graduation rates.

Around NC

Perspective | Jodie Leigh Roberson, program head of early childhood education at Vance-Granville Community College, shares lessons learned from her very first classroom and the importance of teacher mentorship in this EdNC perspective.

ApprenticeshipNC annual report | The 2024-25 ApprenticeshipNC annual report highlights the program’s “vital role within the state’s broader workforce development network,” a recent press release says. The report also discusses the ROI for individuals, employers, and the public. However, the report cautions that much of this success has been fueled by federal funding, with current funding covering 65% of ApprenticeshipNC operations. The federal funding from U.S. Department of Labor grants expires in June 2026. “Without new investment, the program could lose 18 technical experts as well as its marketing and communications capacity, crippling its ability to expand,” the report says.

National Manufacturing Day | Community colleges across the state recently highlighted manufacturing programs, discussed career trajectories, and heard from current students and employers about the manufacturing industry during National Manufacturing Day. You can read more about Randolph Community College in this press release and Central Carolina Community College in this press release.

Research | A recent study examines the development and impact of the Teaching and Learning Hubs across North Carolina’s 58 community colleges.

Student stories | Miranda Parks returned to school after 11 years, earning her GED at Cleveland Community College. Parks said completing her GED “lit a fire” in her to continue studying collision repair and refinishing technology at the college, a recent college press release says.

Craven Community College alumna Shanyia Howard shared how impactful the TRIO program had been, helping her to prioritize her time, manage her schedule, and communicate more effectively and professionally. “These skills gave me a strong foundation and made the transition to my bachelor’s degree program much smoother,” Howard shared in this college press release.

Grants | Isothermal Community College received a $1 million grant from the RHI Legacy Foundation to support the ongoing construction of the Dr. Bobby F. England Health & Sciences Center. The money will help fund construction, equipment, and technology for the 55,000-square-foot facility.

Announcements | Esteban Guzmán, Wayne Community College’s small business center director, is one of 30 newly appointed members to Gov. Stein’s advisory council on Latino affairs. Council members are tasked with exploring specific topics related to the state’s Hispanic and Latino population.

UNC System enrollment | According to a recent press release, the UNC System enrolled more than 23,000 military-affiliated students, a 6% increase from fall 2024.

Upcoming events | The Wayne County Reentry Council will hold a Reentry Employment and Training Summit on Oct. 29 to assist justice-involved individuals with returning to the workforce. According to a press release from Wayne Community College, “the Reentry Council supports those who were formerly incarcerated by providing education, employment services, and essential resources for a successful transition back into society.” The college serves as the intermediary agency for the council. Registration information can be found here.

Registration for the 11th annual Dallas Herring Lecture is now open. The virtual event, presented by the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 11 a.m. EST. Dr. Jason Wood, former president of the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence winner Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, will deliver the 2025 lecture, titled, “We Don’t Graduate People Into Poverty: Designing the College Experience Around Student Success.”