Building a Future-Ready Workforce in North Carolina
We’re proud to be one of 12 states selected by the Lumina Foundation to join its new FutureReady States initiative—alongside Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
What it means for NC:
- We’ll receive technical assistance and policy guidance to strengthen short-term credential programs (8 weeks to 1 year), especially in high-demand fields like healthcare, IT, advanced manufacturing, and logistics.
- Lumina’s first phase includes support from leading organizations like the Business–Higher Education Forum, Jobs for the Future, and the National Skills Coalition.
- The initiative includes tracking outcomes—job placement, wage gains, continued learning—to ensure investments pay off for learners and taxpayers.
As Cecilia Holden noted from myFutureNC:
“Success… means building a system where every credential earned helps close the skills gap for employers—and where every learner has a clear, supported path to economic mobility.”
This effort builds on NC’s previous investments in short-term workforce training, and helps accelerate our 2030 attainment goal—2 million adults ages 25–44 with high-value credentials.
Let’s keep the momentum going as we support skill-building that works for people, families, and our economy.