{{RELATEDLINKS}}The Challenge
Labor consistently ranks
as the #1 consideration of
expanding or relocating
companies. The NCEast
Alliance has partnered with
several entities to combat
the skilled worker shortfall
and fill the pipeline with
well-qualified talent. The
comprehensive approach
to workforce development
has garnered attention from
across the country for its
level of collaboration and
responsiveness to employers’
needs.
Ready to Work
Perhaps no program in
the region has been more
beneficial to employers than
the WorkKeys Job Profiling
matched with Career Readiness Certificates (CRC)
to insure workers have the correct job-specific
foundational skills to begin-on-the-job training
and higher level skill development. More than
150 companies now utilize the CRC in their employment
practices and nearly 50,000 people now
possess a CRC — almost 11 percent of the regional
labor force.
“As an employer, our company understands
the value of a well-trained workforce. We’ve had
several jobs profiled, and the resulting use of CRC
scores has helped us put the right people in the
right jobs,” said Chris Martin, Mt. Olive Pickle
Human Resources Director.
The success of the CRC in eastern NC has
allowed the region to pilot a successful Certified
WorkReady Community (WRC) initiative being
studied for replication statewide. Communities
can earn the WRC
designation by achieving
certain standards, displaying
their commitment to workforce
excellence
(www.ncworkready.org).
Craven (New Bern),
Edgecombe (Tarboro),
Lenoir (Kinston), Pitt
(Greenville), and Wayne
(Goldsboro) counties are
the first five in the state
to be certified.
Aligning STEM Education
Another component of
the workforce development
continuum is STEMEast
(www.stemeast.org).
STEMEast was conceived
by NCSTEM, Lenoir County
Schools, Lenoir Committee
of 100, The Alliance, and
area business leaders in 2009. With additional
support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
Golden LEAF Foundation, and private companies,
a regional program was developed. STEMEast built
upon the success of the CRC and WRC programs
through a public/private network that supports the
entire education and workforce pipeline.
Although STEMEast is still a young program
(launched in 2011), early results were dramatic:
initially five STEM centers in four school districts,
a 10–20 percent increase in pass rates on science
exams, an 850 percent increase in regional Kenan
Fellowships (placing teachers in company internships
and development programs), and a 105 percent
increase in students taking algebra within a
math-focused STEM center. To date, STEMEast
has assisted five counties secure over $3 million
to support 36 STEM centers by 2016.