The HIGHTS (Helping Inspire Gifts of Hope, Trust, and Service), alongside Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Graham, Clay, and Cherokee County provides career training, mentorship, and health resources to provide a solid foundation for the area’s Opportunity Youth. Students are provided with mental health and career support, and access to food stamps, childcare, and housing resources. Community members support students’ employment by engaging them with skill training, career counseling, after-school mentorship, and employment opportunities. The collaborative wants to engage Opportunity Youth by “inspiring trust in their own abilities, connection to a caring community, and hope for a better future.”

Lincoln County Schools and the government of Lincoln County are dedicated to promoting a school curriculum that focuses on important skills for STEM careers, while providing apprenticeship opportunities within the county. Students attend events that promote the benefits of a STEAM-based education, and educators receive tools to help students engage with STEAM-based curriculums. CTE programs in schools provide students with knowledge about topics ranging from robotics to web design.  Additionally, Industrial Managers Association works with middle and high school students through career exploration tools and apprenticeships. The collaborative shared that through its “three stakeholder groups” of “industry, education, [and] economic development” it aims to promote “a thriving and stable economic ecosystem.”

Central Piedmont Community College works alongside Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Community in Schools, Next Stage, and the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program to contribute both education and job training to the county’s at-risk youth to help students earn their high school diploma, and gain both job training and employability skills to keep pace with the job market.  The group engages with Charlotte-Mecklenburg students by talking to them about college and providing mentorship and internship programs through college and work partnerships that build the knowledge and experience of students. The collaborative shared that it is striving to “minimize the long-term effects of the pandemic on enrollment, attainment, and workforce preparation.”

Left to Right: Josh Jacobson, Kim Pollins, Florence Patterson, Dawn Hill

The Men of Destiny program has partnered with the governments of Cabarrus and Mecklenburg County to provide Opportunity Youth with mentoring from local business and government leaders through hands-on internships. Through the “Levels of Leadership” Initiative, high school students receive opportunities to gain Level One certifications in construction while partnering with the Southeastern Carpenters Regional Council to provide training and resources. In addition to technical skills, students also receive social-emotional support from their community mentor, the collaborative shared that it is working towards a time where “all communities are equally collaborative in economic and social environments as marked by valuable, relevant and equitable contributions to the overall advancement of society.”

Left to Right: Winston Earle, Phillip Gussman, Gary Crump

The Piedmont Triad Regional Workforce Development Board (PTRWDB), which includes Caswell, Davie , Forsyth, Rockingham, Surry, Stokes, and Yadkin County school systems, created the Triad Career Connect Model. This model creates workforce opportunities and exposure to regional employers of interest by collaborating with programs such as NCWorks’ NextGen program. Since its inception in 2019, the program has helped 50 students, and sees the program as easily replicable and effective. The collaborative takes advantage of “the tremendous opportunity for cross-county collaboration through the sharing of resources and streamlined, complimentary programs.”

The Alamance-Burlington School System works with the Regional Partnership Workforce Development Board, NC Works Career Center, Alamance Community College, and the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Career Accelerator Program to provide on-the-job training and career mentorship for Opportunity Youth. The connects high school students taking CTE courses with part-time internships, career exploration activities, and skill-building workshops, and connects students who have left high school with a GED program at the local community college that includes tutoring, counseling, and part-time jobs. The collaborative is seeking to “strengthen the already strong partnerships between community agencies and organizations to begin building a talent pipeline of individuals who have not previously been given opportunities to succeed in the world of work.”

The Summer Careers Academy of Orange County, assisted by the Orange County government, Chapel Hill Schools, and Orange County Schools seeks to increase the avenues to academic and career-related success for the county’s minority and low-income students. The Academy provides summer apprenticeships to students in skilled trades, with hopes to expand its opportunities to other thriving industries such as health care and cyber security. The Academy measures the job outcomes for its graduates after one, two, and five years to ensure the students’ success and to adapt its programs as needed. The collaborative shared that they “are intentionally collaborating on a weekly basis to improve the talent pipeline and create compelling career opportunities for residents, especially Opportunity Youth.” 

The organization Men and Women United for Youth and Families (MWUYF) is working with the governments of Columbus and Bladen counties to provide job training and mentorship to Opportunity Youth, as well as counseling services that build life skills and grow communities. MWUYF’s “Strengthening Families” program provides counseling to parents and families, and their partners at NC A&T’s Cooperative Extension provide evidence-based life-skill training for MWUYF’s “Community Voices” program MWUYF’s “Youth Ambassadors for a Better Community Program” foster students’ life skills through mentorships that range from MWUYF staff to local farmers. The collaborative strives to empower Opportunity Youth “to see the value they hold and therefore visualize a successful future beyond the barrier they’ve always known.”

Left to right: Maria Madison, Raldoph Keaton, Alyssa Delts Robinson, Turnette Chestnut

The Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board (ECWDB) is teaming with Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico, and Wayne County to develop the region’s youth into skilled workers to ensure the success of both students and employers. Five certified career pathways have been created for students in partnership with local community colleges and public-school systems. The ECWDB aims to increase funding and resources for three local school systems to operate in-school programs that serve economically disadvantaged students. The collaborative’s main goal is to “promote, expand, and create meaningful career pathways that target young adults aged 16 to 24 who are unemployed, underemployed, or not enrolled in school.”

In supporting the county’s Opportunity Youth, the Wayne County Public Library partners with the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, Wayne County Public Schools, Communities Supporting Schools of Wayne County, and Wayne Community College to provide employment support, career fairs, and volunteer opportunities, and community service opportunities for justice-involved youth. Looking forward, the project seeks to coordinate with its partner agencies to build connections among schools, employers, and the community at large. The collaborative shared that they are “excited to work with Opportunity Youth to share local options for employment, education, and where their interests and skills can take them.”

Wilson County, the City of Wilson, and Wilson County Schools  used the feedback of over 160 educators, parents, community members, nonprofits, businesses, churches, law enforcement and government agencies to create The Youth Master Plan of Wilson, adopted in 2014, to improve the education and career results for the county’s students, as well as the health and resources of Wilson County communities by establishing school-based health centers and placing Carolina College Advising Corps members in each high school. Carolina College Advising Corps members in each high school. Another aspect is a focus on career preparation, with programs such as SOAR and Work-N-Wilson providing resources and skills for job training and exploration within the county. The collaborative shared that through “unique community assets and cross-sector collaborative goals” it can create “effective short and long-term strategies that will address the inevitable learning loss of students who were already struggling to reach minimal achievement levels before the pandemic.”

The Rivers East team and its Workforce Development Board have aligned with the Mid-East Commission and the governments of Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Martin, and Pitt County to create career pathways to in-demand regional industries in its school systems Four Certified Career Pathways have been introduced over the past decade in the region’s high schools: healthcare, advanced manufacturing, business support services, and agriscience/biotechnology. The group hopes to expand Beaufort County’s “Made In” campaign with to other counties soon. This campaign provides resources for students of all ages that detail how to start a career with local companies. The collaborative shared that they are looking to help Opportunity Youth “overcome their barriers and help them meet their educational and employment goals.”