Moving Ideas to Action
IEI’s Talent First Economics team took on a variety of activities and initiatives to make connecting and engaging our state’s skilled workforce a reality.
- Issued a new NC Workforce Trends Report. NC State University economist Mike Walden examines trends in factors that impact the state’s labor market and workforce access for certain subgroups of North Carolinians. View the report here.
- Co-hosted the NC Association of Workforce Development Boards meeting on May 18, 2022. We highlighted data from the Walden report and engaged workforce board members in discussions about disconnected workers in their regions. This conversation helped IEI identify subgroups of workers on which to focus our policy and programmatic efforts. View the meeting summary and key takeaways.
- Convened a task force to develop recommendations. The task force identified policies and programs to better connect, engage and grow workers among the five identified subgroups. The final recommendations report was released in June 2023.
- Formed a Community Cohort. IEI identified five community teams to take part in NC State’s Workforce Development Leadership Initiative. The cohort teams developed a set of action planning steps for their communities, drawing from the refined recommendations explored at the forum.
- Convened regional meetings. Partnering with the community cohort teams, we co-hosted regional meetings in Asheville, High Point, Leland and Snow Hill to highlight local opportunities for engaging with the underutilized workforce.