myFutureNC Announces Eight Counties for Inaugural AttainmentNC Cohort

Bertie, Burke, Craven, Forsyth, Haywood, Iredell, Sampson and Wilson counties will each receive $200,000 over two years to strengthen local education-to-workforce connections.

RALEIGH, N.C. — myFutureNC announced the eight counties participating in the inaugural AttainmentNC cohort: Bertie, Burke, Craven, Forsyth, Haywood, Iredell, Sampson and Wilson. With agreements now in place across all eight communities, counties are beginning the next phase of local staffing and planning.

AttainmentNC is a two-year, county-based model developed by myFutureNC to help communities strengthen connections among education, workforce and employers. Each county collaborative will bring together partners such as K-12 schools, community colleges and higher education, workforce and economic development organizations, employers and local government around shared education and workforce priorities.

The work centers on Career & Employer-Connected Learning — strategies that help people better connect education to meaningful careers while helping employers build stronger local talent pipelines. Depending on local needs, that can include career exploration and planning, dual enrollment and Career and Technical Education, internships, pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships, work-based learning, financial aid navigation and other career-connected opportunities.

Rather than creating a stand-alone program, AttainmentNC is designed to help communities better connect and strengthen the programs, partnerships and resources already in place while building sustainable approaches to local education and workforce challenges.

Each participating county will receive $200,000 over two years to support its AttainmentNC work. myFutureNC will also provide coordination, coaching, data support, convenings and opportunities for shared learning across the cohort.

The eight counties were selected based on readiness factors built into the AttainmentNC model, including an existing foundation of cross-sector collaboration; participation from education, workforce, economic development and employers; experience with or interest in career- and employer-connected strategies; the capacity to dedicate staff to the work; and a commitment to long-term sustainability.

“These eight counties have already assembled the right partners and shown a strong commitment to aligning education with employer needs,” said Cecilia Holden, President & CEO of myFutureNC. “AttainmentNC provides local communities the dedicated capacity and support needed to transform this collaboration into a robust business model that accelerates progress. These Project Managers and local leaders will be instrumental in creating better connected systems that streamline the path for individuals to move from education to meaningful careers, ensuring employers can easily find the talent they need.”

A critical part of the AttainmentNC model is dedicated local leadership. Each participating county will have a dedicated Project Manager or project lead responsible for coordinating the county collaborative, maintaining momentum across partners and serving as the primary liaison with myFutureNC.