At ncIMPACT Initiative, we work alongside local communities to help them rethink the challenges they face. When community members state they want to more effectively reach young adults, we partner with them to generate the ideas that help address those needs.

One example of this partnership is with ncIMPACT’s work with Carolina Across 100‘s “Our State, Our Work” (OSOW) program. Beginning in 2022, we worked OSOW teams to help them build more effective workforce development systems for young adults 16-24 years old who are neither in school nor employed, known as Opportunity Youth. OSOW partnered with 13 community teams across 37 mostly rural counties, home to 58,000 Opportunity Youth, to improve their employability and technical skills.

We extended our partnership with other key partners that include the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) and Microsoft to offer both online technical training and credentialing at no cost through their completion of the “7 Steps to Get Hired.” course this partnership prepared participants to earn in-demand employability skills and high-value micro-credentials.

This project received support from The Golden LEAF Foundation to pay for the team to redesign the course, market to potential learners, and engage with professionals throughout the state. We were able to teach strategies that meet employability skills employers value.

In developing this course, there are four key lessons that stand out.

1. Accessibility is key. The course is accessible via digital devices, such as a phone, tablet, or computer, offered by the NCCCS at no cost to Opportunity Youth (OY). Anecdotally, we know even learners without a personal device can use computers at their local library computer and then re-access the course later on another device. The “durable skills” or “soft skills” set forth by employers and service providers as important for young adults’ employment were incorporated into the “7 Steps” curriculum.The course is also free and self-paced, allowing learners to access the course at any time at no cost. For Opportunity Youth who may be facing financial barriers, this flexibility allows them to upskill at their own pace at no cost.
2. Creation of a state-wide ecosystem of supportive professionals is impactful. Throughout the course, our team assembled a team of “local liaisons” to support learner recruitment and retention. These liaisons helped offer the learners an opportunity to be in relationship with someone to guide them through the course and to connect them to the wraparound resources needed. We were also able to partner with many North Carolina Association of Workforce Development Boards (NCAWDDB) and other local organizations with insights into and relationships with Opportunity Youth. These liaisons were helpful not just so the learner has someone to guide them through the course, but also learners can be connected to wraparound resources they may need. For example, learners who signed up for the course may also be in need of childcare. Having a local liaison to connect these learners with has allowed us to better meet the holistic needs of Opportunity Youth and other young adults across the state as they seek to achieve their personal and professional goals.We have built a network of 36 individuals spanning 86 counties. These individuals include “Our State, Our Work” community leaders, nonprofit professionals, school administrators, COG representatives, NC Works leadership, teachers, and counselors. By creating a course informed by previous curriculums and the needs of employers, NC Works is able to utilize the course to satisfy an Individual Employment Plan requirement. Nonprofits and in-school professionals were eager to connect students with an evidence-based tool. As a result, cross and with-in county partnerships and referral networks have been created and strengthened as a result of our outreach efforts and recruitment of local liaisons.
3. It’s important to tailor your messaging to young adults. We used targeted ads, managed by HIVE Digital via Google and Meta, to direct Opportunity Youth to our course landing page to register for the free course and learn about the Microsoft credentials. Finding young people when they were available to learn about the course proved to be highly effective. We reached over 491 learners by using this approach. Users who clicked on these ads were asked to enter basic contact data and their county, as well as indication of their status as a “learner” or “partner.” Then, our team would sort this information by user type (learner or partner), then share learner information based on their county with the appropriate liaison(s). This targeted approach using tailored messaging allowed our team to “find” Opportunity Youth online and connect them with the “7 Steps to Get hired” Course, as well as a local liaison who could connect them with community resources.
4. Elevating the experiences of former Opportunity Youth is important. When we reached out to young people, we were able to include voices that powerfully expressed the success young people can have with supports in place. Throughout each module, learners heard from Alyssa Delts, project manager of “Communities Connected For Success (CC4S),” “Our State, Our Work” Team 9 representing Bladen and Columbus Counties, and led by Men and Women United for Youth and Families. Alyssa was able to speak to where our learners are. In fact, she was viewed as realistic and authentic in her description of why it is so important to be competent in the employability skills explored in the course.

We believe reaching young people and helping them improve their skills is critical to the health of our state. By working together with institutional and community partners, we commit to making this course accessible to young people, especially Opportunity Youth, who are looking to upskill and change their career trajectory.