Workforce Development

Nov 17, 2020

First in Future: The Ties That Bind Us (part 3) – Zachary Barricklow

This is part three of a three episode series of First in Future, where we focus on community, specifically what people and places in North Carolina are doing to make the places we live special. In the final part of our special focus on what transforms a place we live into a true community, we talk with Zach Barricklow of Wilkes Community College about the regional approach Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany counties are taking to build off of their collective assets (especially high speed internet) to hold on to young people, retrain adults and attract new residents to the area. 

Nov 10, 2020

First in Future: The Ties That Bind Us (part 2) – Dante Pittman

This is part of a three episode series of First in Future, where we want to focus on community, specifically what people and places in North Carolina are doing to make the places we live special. Small towns everywhere complain about "brain drain", young educated people who move away for college and don't come back. In the second part of our series on what makes the places we live special, we talk with Dante Pittman, who chose to move back home to Wilson, NC, with the help of a new effort called "Lead for North Carolina." And we explore the question: how do we retain and retrain and stop brain drain? 

May 22, 2020

The Way Back from Unemployment?

Summary: Leslie Boney, Director of the Institute for Emerging Issues, hosts a series of virtual conversations discussing the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and some of the ways our state is… 

Feb 25, 2020

First in Future: State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis

Summary: This year, the Raleigh-based nonprofit Public School Forum has identified its top education issues to address, to take “immediate and intentional actions to provide each child a sound basic education.” This is a response to a lingering… 

Jan 7, 2020

First in Future: IBM Global Lead for Serious Games Phaedra Boinodiris

Summary: Artificial intelligence will soon be making decisions about who gets jobs, whether you get a loan, and what sort of diagnosis you get for a condition. That is why… 

Dec 24, 2019

First in Future: co-founder of District C Dan Gonzalez

Summary: In 2016, the Institute for Emerging Issues looked at the future economy and tried to figure out the kinds and numbers of jobs that were likely to go away… 

Dec 17, 2019

First in Future: President and CEO of North Carolina Technology Association Brooks Raiford

Summary: North Carolina’s tech industry is booming, with more than 250,000 workers at 20,000 firms and a growth of 21 percent over the past five years. As President and CEO… 

Dec 10, 2019

First in Future: R&D Vice President at SAS Oita Coleman

Summary: At our upcoming forum in February, IEI will explore strategies to ensure that people across North Carolina can take full advantage of broadband, the digital economy and new technology.… 

Dec 3, 2019

First in Future: Sr. Director of Trade Skills and Learning Innovation at Lowe’s Companies Michael Mitchell

Summary: A recent study says that 62% of businesses are having trouble filling skilled trades positions, and 74% expect to have trouble in the future. The problem is not pay;… 

Nov 12, 2019

First in Future: Mayor of Troy, North Carolina Sherri Allgood

Summary: Being a mayor is hard. How do you deal with a bypass that diverts traffic around your city? Will improvements to a struggling part of town affect property values…