What Leaders Across North Carolina Are Saying
The Workforce Act of 2026
Employers & Industry
“The Workforce Act of 2026 puts real funding behind apprenticeships, giving young people and working adults all across North Carolina a real chance to learn by doing, earn while they train, and build skills that last. Here in Eastern North Carolina, it is about opening more doors to hands-on experience and showing our kids there are good paying jobs right here at home. They do not have to chase opportunity somewhere else. It is already waiting on them in their own backyard.”
Trey Cash
Chief Operating Officer, NC Global TransPark Economic Development Region
“The Workforce Act of 2026 addresses career training enhancements that cut across all segments of employment in North Carolina. Clear career pathways with proper credentials along with top-notch apprenticeships will solidify opportunities for the future for the workforce, young and old. Increased efficiencies in building a skilled workforce will make sure that all employers have the talent and number of producers they need to keep North Carolina at the top as a great place for business.”
Kevin Austin
Vice President of Manufacturing, Austin Electrical Enclosures
“The Workforce Act of 2026 reinforces what we know works: when employers help shape talent pipelines alongside education and community partners, we see stronger outcomes for learners and businesses alike. This kind of collaboration expands access to opportunity and ensures North Carolinians are prepared for the jobs driving our economy today and into the future.”
Emily M. Dickens, J.D.
Chief Administrative Officer, SHRM
“Whenever a company chooses North Carolina, the No. 1 factor is almost always workforce. The work that myFutureNC is doing to strengthen educational attainment across the state is critical to ensuring our workforce is prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”
Christopher Chung
Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
Education & Workforce Leaders
“Workforce development begins in preschool and continues well past retirement. The investments we make in PreK–12 education, extending to industry-recognized credentials, apprenticeships, two- and four-year degrees, and higher education pathways will ensure we have the workforce necessary to support current and future jobs. Investment now is critical for North Carolina to remain the top place to do business and guarantee our future success.”
Barbi Jones
President & CEO, Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce
“The Workforce Act of 2026 is a vital investment in North Carolina’s economic future. It reinforces the partnerships between workforce, education, and industry that are essential to building a skilled and adaptable talent pipeline. By improving access to high-quality training and career pathways, this legislation positions our state for continued growth and resilience.”
Wendy Walker-Fox
Workforce and Economic Development Director, Piedmont Triad Regional Council
“The Workforce Act of 2026 addresses North Carolina’s needs across students, families, employers, and workforce pipelines—needs we see daily through Goodwill and NCWorks programs. It focuses on expanding access to education, credentials, and opportunity, supporting diverse learning paths from skilled trades and technical careers to college degrees. By strengthening work-based learning, support services, and credit for employer-valued skills, the Act helps more individuals achieve in-demand credentials. Continued investment in this work is essential to our state’s future.”
Sherry Carpenter
Chief Organizational Development and Mission Advancement Officer, Goodwill Industries of Northwest NC
“The Workforce Act of 2026 is, at a minimum, very inspirational, especially for attracting the much-needed candidates who want to obtain an industry-valued credential in early childhood education. These bills likely accelerate implementation of education-to-workforce pathways and amplify more opportunities statewide for work-based learning for high school students who want to pursue pre-apprenticeships in early childhood education — an area that historically has not benefitted statewide from pre-apprenticeship programs. Everybody wins with this one!”
Sandy Weathersbee
Early Childhood Education Leader, Providence Preparatory School
“NCICU is fortunate to have received $1.3 million in foundation support to streamline the transfer of early college students, current students, and returning adults with “some college, no degree” to North Carolina’s independent colleges and universities. Having a common digital transcript for students across all education sectors is key to creating a smooth transfer process that helps students achieve their degrees and supports North Carolina’s myFutureNC attainment goal.”
Dr. Hope Williams
President, NC Independent Colleges and Universities
“The Workforce Act of 2026 closely aligns with the work we are doing in Surry County Schools through Surry-Yadkin Works to connect students with real career pathways while they are still in high school. High school should be a safe place where students can explore their interests with support from counselors, teachers, and mentors while building a clear understanding of credentials and career options. Through intentional career navigation, we help students understand pathways, what different careers require, and how to plan their next steps. In Surry County Schools, we have focused on growing our own through teacher pathways and trades, creating opportunities for students to return as educators, skilled professionals, and contributors in their own communities. This legislation strengthens that work by helping students connect the dots of life, showing how each step in education leads to the next opportunity and ultimately to meaningful careers.”
Dr. Travis Reeves
Superintendent, Surry County Schools
Community & State Leaders
“The introduction of the Workforce Act of 2026 in both the House and Senate reflects a strong, shared commitment to strengthening North Carolina’s talent pipeline. By aligning education and workforce systems and scaling what’s already working, this legislation creates clearer, more accessible pathways to high-demand careers. This is an important step toward meeting our state’s attainment goal and supporting long-term economic growth.”
The Honorable John A. Fraley
Retired Representative, NC General Assembly; Member, UNC Board of Governors
“As a myFutureNC board member who has called western North Carolina home for more than 15 years, I’ve seen firsthand how our rural mountain communities thrive when education connects clearly to real opportunity. I think of Brody Miller — a Mayland Community College student I met in Mitchell County after Hurricane Helene, whose hands-on leadership in disaster relief helped him find a meaningful path forward. Brody’s path is exactly what the Workforce Act of 2026 is designed to make possible for more young North Carolinians through work-based learning, career navigation, seamless pathways, and employer-valued credentials that create clearer, faster routes from the classroom to good careers in every corner of our state.”
The Honorable Deanna Ballard
Retired Senator, NC General Assembly
“Strong communities are built when people can see a future for themselves close to home. The Workforce Act of 2026 recognizes that economic growth is not just about attracting business — it is about preparing people for meaningful careers and giving employers confidence that talent will be here for the long term. For western North Carolina, this legislation helps strengthen the connection between education, workforce training, and the kinds of opportunities that allow communities and businesses alike to grow and thrive together.”
Jack Cecil
President and CEO, Biltmore Farms
“The Workforce Act of 2026 is exactly the kind of bold, coordinated action that Western North Carolina has been working toward — and urgently needs. The Act's four priorities align directly with the strategies we know move people from the classroom into meaningful careers.
The data are sobering and clear: Household incomes in WNC remain roughly $11,000 below the state average, and our region's longstanding economic vulnerabilities were laid bare in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The Workforce Act offers a statewide framework to scale what is already working, and to do so in regions like ours where the gap between opportunity and attainment is most acute.
The Land of Sky P20 Council has set a goal of producing an additional 19,340 credentialed workers in Western North Carolina by 2030. Reaching that goal will require exactly this kind of alignment between local effort and state policy. We strongly urge the General Assembly to pass the NC Workforce Act of 2026, not just as an investment in our economy, but as a commitment to the people of WNC and the future they deserve.”
Dr. Gene Loflin
NC Prison Education Consortium Executive Director