Introduction
Do North Carolinians need four-year degrees to be successful? According to projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the North Carolina Department of Commerce, employment opportunities may be more plentiful for those who decide to enter the workforce without a college degree than for those who do have one.
BLS analysts predict that jobs requiring a high school diploma, associate degree, or postsecondary certificate will be plentiful through 2032. Of the 20 occupations projected to have the largest numeric growth in jobs, only 12 require a bachelor’s or graduate degree for entry-level positions. Of the occupations that require a four-year degree or higher, software developers lead the pack with more than 410,000 jobs estimated to be created nationwide by 2032. By comparison, 804,600 new jobs are estimated to be created for home health and personal care aides, who typically need only a high school diploma. These positions are projected to have the “largest increase in new jobs of any occupation over the 2022-32 projections period” and “account for approximately 1 of every 6 new jobs.”
Similarly, the North Carolina Department of Commerce projects that nearly 60% of occupations will require “no formal education or only a high school diploma” by 2030. The department estimates that the fast-est-growing occupational sectors in North Carolina from 2021 to 2030 will include arts, entertainment, and recreation; professional, scientific, and technical services; and health care and social assistance. Significant estimated declines will be in the utilities sector (8.1% decline) and the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector (2.4% decline).
Elected officials have taken notice of these trends. Over the last decade, the North Carolina General Assembly has passed laws to increase access to functional and practical career and technical education. These included the development of career and college endorsements for high school diplomas and bonuses for career and technical education teachers based on the number of students who earn state-approved industry certifications or credentials. In addition, lawmakers have encouraged greater collaboration between school districts and community colleges to increase the number of students enrolling in career and technical education in high-need employment areas.
During her tenure as state superintendent of public instruction, Catherine Truitt has emphasized the importance of workforce development training in preparing students for college, a career, or military service. Declaring 2022 the “Year of the Workforce,” Truitt set out four priorities to promote greater alignment between the K-12 education system and workforce needs: preparing students for the workforce and cultivating the school-to-workforce pipeline; increasing access to postsecondary pathways leading to in-demand, high-wage careers; giving students and families the information necessary to make informed postsecondary plans; and advocating for career exploration opportunities and work-based learning for every student.
In January 2022, Truitt announced that career and technical education programs would receive $3 million in new funding that year. In October, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction unveiled its “Portrait of a Graduate,” an aspirational profile that aims to ensure that all students are prepared for future academic and professional opportunities. The Portrait of a Graduate was aligned with Truitt’s “Year of the Workforce” and identified seven core competencies that all students should have when they graduate from high school so that they can “thrive in the 21st century.”
A renewed focus on career and technical education is only a first step, but it is a welcome one for students, taxpayers, and employers. Students who are ill-prepared for college would avoid incurring massive student loan debt, and taxpayers would not be compelled to subsidize their pursuit of four-year degrees. Employers would enjoy a larger, arguably better-prepared pool of prospective employees. Furthermore, these students would have plentiful employment opportunities in North Carolina for years to come.
Key Facts
- Certain career and technical education students in 12th grade complete the ACT WorkKeys assessment. Scores help students determine if they have the skills needed for particular jobs or professions. During 2021-22, more than 37,000 North Carolina students took the WorkKeys assessment, and 37% of them earned WorkKeys Gold or Platinum scores, the highest of the four career readiness credentials.
- The number of industry-recognized credentials earned by North Carolina students had been rising sharply in recent years but was negatively impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic, changes in federal law, and the decision to exclude WorkKeys credentials from the overall number of earned credentials since they are not aligned with a specific CTE (Career and Technical Education) course. During the 2010-11 school year, North Carolina students earned nearly 25,000 career and technical education credentials. By 2019-20, that figure had risen to 241,338 credentials. During the 2021-22 school year, students earned 239,200 credentials.
- Popular credentials earned by public-school students include the Conover Workplace Readiness Credential, accredited food handler certification, CPR/AED, Microsoft PowerPoint and Word, and entrepreneurship.
- According to the Department of Public Instruction, more than 931,000 students across North Carolina participate in CTE courses.
- In February 2022, the Department of Public Instruction announced that it had partnered with Microsoft and Prodigy Learning to offer a “Coding in Minecraft” credential program to all middle-school students in North Carolina. The program is intended to help students develop coding skills, gain experience using programs like JavaScript and Python, and cultivate “durable skills,” such as creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.
- In October 2022, the State Board of Education adopted a policy designed to strengthen North Carolina’s Career and College Promise Program, which helps students earn college credits through local community colleges while they are still in high school. The State Board’s new policy requires all school districts to “develop formal agreements with their community college partners addressing several factors found to improve both student participation and successful outcomes.”
- In 2023, lawmakers introduced a bill that would have required middleand high-school students who attend traditional public schools to put together a career development plan by the end of 7th grade and update it by the end of 10th grade. Charter schools would have been encouraged, but not required, to have their students complete career development plans as well. The bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House Rules Committee.
Recommendations
1. Starting in middle school, give public-school students opportunities to pursue vocational or advanced training in preparation for a career after graduation.
Career and technical education programs should start in middle school when many students lose interest in the traditional academic setting. It would give students ample time to change career and technical education program areas, obtain advanced skills in multiple areas, or switch to a college-preparatory course of study.
2. Ensure that community colleges and universities continue to invest scarce resources in professional training and degree programs that correspond to the needs of North Carolina’s workforce.
While not precluding support for other academic disciplines, funding priorities should, in part, reflect supply and demand for qualified workers in fields such as nursing, business management, accounting, teaching, and computer programming.
3. Strongly Encourage Apprenticeships.
Businesses and educational institutions should work together to customize work-based programs to meet their short and long-term needs.
4. Expand Access to Work-Based Programs.
Field trips, cooperative education, entrepreneurial experiences, internships, job shadowing, mentorships, school-based enterprises, and service-learning are viable, work-based learning strategies districts may offer to students interested in an industry or profession.
