Land of Sky Educational Attainment & Workforce Collaborative Preliminary Report May 2020

1. PRELIMINARY REPORT
CONNECTING THE DOTS THAT LEAD TO
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND GAINFUL
EMPLOYMENT
MAY 2020

2. Table of Contents
Project Overview ........................................................................................................................1
Collaborative’s History ...............................................................................................................2
Attainment & Workforce Collaborative Attainment Ecosystem...................................................4
Short-Term Goals........................................................................................................................6
Collaborative Region Assets Map ...............................................................................................6
County Profiles and Attainment Dashboard.................................................................................8
Best Practices..............................................................................................................................8
Employment Trends....................................................................................................................8
Next Steps.................................................................................................................................10

3. 1 | P a g e
Project Overview
The Land of Sky Educational Attainment and Workforce Collaborative, “the Collaborative,” is a
pilot program related to the statewide myFutureNC Commission Educational Attainment
Initiative. The focus is to align educational achievements with employable skill needs of local
employers. The overall myFutureNC state goal is to increase the total number of North
Carolinians with a postsecondary credential or degree by 2 million by the year 2030. Forecasts
indicate that if the current level of attainment rates remains constant over the 10-year period,
there will be a shortfall of 400,000 individuals with credentials or degrees needed to fulfill the
attainment goal. The Land of Sky region will need to contribute about 82,000 individuals within
the targeted group with a postsecondary credential or degree by 2030. Carolina Demography
projects that the Land of Sky region is on track to contribute 72,000 individuals with
postsecondary credentials or degrees at its current attainment level. To minimize that shortfall,
the Collaborative’s four-county goal is to increase the number of North Carolinians with
postsecondary credentials or degrees by 10,000 by the year 2030.
The Collaborative focuses on short-term, intermediate, and long-term resources and goals that
lead to a greater alignment of educational objectives and outcomes related to employers’ human
talent competencies needed in the four-county region of Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and
Transylvania, North Carolina. The pilot program will develop an attainment model that
examines educational initiatives, certificates, and degrees that create a seamless transition from
educational institutions to gainful employment that can be utilized in all 100 North Carolina
counties.
Stakeholders include:
• Pre-K Programs
• K-12 Schools
• Community Colleges
• Public Colleges and Universities
• Private Colleges and Universities
• Workforce Development Boards
• Economic Developers
• Private and Public Employers
• Community Partners
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Local and State Governments

4. 2 | P a g e
Collaborative’s History
The Land of Sky/myFutureNC Collaborative was conceived in February 2019, when
myFutureNC released its goal of two (2) million 25 – 44 years old North Carolinians earning
high-quality credentials or post-secondary degrees by the year 2030. Initial conversations among
a small group of leaders revolved around possible collaborations between institutions of higher
education and public school systems, in the interest of developing a “pipeline” that would help
the four-county region fulfill its portion of the overall state goal. The Collaborative was
intentionally focused on Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania counties, which are
all served by the Land of Sky Regional Council, a local government planning and development
organization. The Collaborative’s founders and core team are:
• Mr. Jack Cecil, myFutureNC Board Member and President & CEO of Biltmore Farms
• Dr. Michael Dempsey, Dean and Director, Lenoir-Rhyne University Asheville
• Mr. Nathan Ramsey, Executive Director, Land of Sky Regional Council
• Dr. Laura Leatherwood, President, Blue Ridge Community College
• Dr. Bill Sederburg, Retired Chancellor, UNC Wilmington
To move the Collaborative forward, a steering committee was formed that represented
community colleges, public and private universities, and K-12 school systems. Initial steering
committee members included:
• Dr. Nancy Cable, Chancellor, UNC Asheville
• Mr. Tony Floyd, President, Mars Hill University
• Dr. Gene Loflin, Associate VP, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
• Dr. Jeff McDaris, Superintendent, Transylvania County Schools
Workforce development professionals and employers were also included in early meetings, to
ensure that the Collaborative’s focus would remain current with the regional economy’s needs,
trends, and forecasts. Several educational leaders visited Catawba Community College in
Hickory, NC, to learn more about the Catawba K-64 Initiative that has a focus on connecting all
Catawba County students to career opportunities. Additionally, during the Summer of 2019, the
Land of Sky Collaborative’s Leadership Team authored a White Paper outlining its initial ideas
and their alignment with myFutureNC, and they met with myFutureNC funders and Tennessee
education officials. The group formalized the Land of Sky Educational Attainment and
Workforce Collaborative in Fall 2019. Shortly thereafter, planning-grant funding was secured
from the John M. Belk Endowment, and Dr. Joseph Fox, President of Fox Management
Consulting Enterprises, was hired as the Collaborative’s Project Coordinator.
In November 2019, the Collaborative’s first large meeting was held at the Biltmore Park Hilton
Hotel in Asheville. Planning for the Collaborative fully commenced at that meeting, and leaders
from the following institutions participated:

5. 3 | P a g e
• Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
• Asheville City Schools
• Blue Ridge Community College
• Brevard College
• Buncombe County Schools
• Henderson County Public Schools
• Lenoir-Rhyne University
• Mars Hill University
• Montreat College
• Transylvania County Schools
• UNC Asheville
• Western Carolina University
• Warren Wilson College
The Collaborative has continued to work toward improving educational attainment that leads to
gainful employment; however, the COVID-19 crisis caused the cancellation of the March 25,
2020 regional meeting to share updates and establish workgroups. The Collaborative has
refocused its efforts on data collection pertaining to best practices from local stakeholders and
compiled this preliminary report. The core team continues to meet bimonthly via Zoom in an
effort to move the project forward. The Collaborative is using this time of social/physical
distancing to take advantage of additional planning time to forecast educators and employers’
future needs and job categories that may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While our
work at myFutureNC/LOS is intentional, strategic, and comprehensive, we also recognize in this
new world of COVID-19 that we must build in flexibility and adaptability as the workforce and
economy change in our region. When opportunities arise, we too must shift and adapt and so
must our work. The Collaborative is working with local colleges and universities to obtain the
following information:
• Number of Students 25 Years Old and Older Enrolled
• Number of Students 25 Years Old and Older Completing a Postsecondary
Credential/Degree
• Counties in which Students Reside
• FAFSA Completion Rates (Once entering college)
• Persistence Rates
• Completion/Graduation Rates
• Number and Percentage of Students Retained in the Region

6. 4 | P a g e
Attainment & Workforce Collaborative Attainment
Ecosystem
The Collaborative utilizes components of the Collective Impact Model to establish a shared
mission and common interests among stakeholders in the interest of aligning the needs of local
employers’ human talent pools to educational attainment objectives and outcomes. (A graphic
depicting the five components of the Collective Impact Model can be found below.) The
Collaborative forms the “backbone” of the organizational structure to assist the four-county
region in helping myFutureNC with its ambitious goal. The Collaborative is identifying and
reaching out to key community stakeholders, educators, employers, local governments, economic
developers, chambers of commerce, workforce development boards, and community advocates.
Members from each stakeholders group have shared their “best practices” that reinforce the
educational attainment to gainful employment goal. The Land of Sky Educational Attainment &
Workforce Collaborative Coordinator is tasked with maintaining a collective effort that identifies
common goals/progress, and establishing common agendas that create a long-term, sustainable
attainment model. The Coordinator is aided in this work by a task force that includes business
people, workforce development professionals, and representatives from all facets of the
educational pipeline, including K-12 systems, community colleges, and both public and private
four-year colleges and universities.
Source: https://clearimpact.com/achieving-collective-impact

7. 5 | P a g e
The Collaborative has created the following Educational Attainment Collaborative Ecosystem:
• External Variables are external factors impacting educational attainment, such as family
support.
• Internal Variables are internal factors impacting educational attainment, such as student
preparedness.
• Educational Institutions include Pre-K programs, public and private education K-12,
community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities.
• Policy Issues are policies that directly or indirectly impact educational attainment, plus
initiatives including funding and technology.
• Advocacy Groups are programs and organizations that advocate for educational
attainment, social and/or economic justice, human rights, etc.
• Employers are the end users that employ individuals with various credentials and
degrees.
• Workforce Development includes workforce development councils, economic
developers, and city/county governments.

8. 6 | P a g e
Short-Term Goals
Established short-term goals include the following:
• To provide recommendations regarding policy changes that will eliminate opportunity
gaps, create a common workforce development vision, and enhance gainful employment
through an equity lens.
• To establish communication and networking opportunities for all stakeholders that lead to
enhanced alignment between educational institutions, local governments, and local
employers.
• To build upon national and local “Best Practices” models in the educational and
workforce talent development arenas that lead to development of a successful North
Carolina model.
• To work in conjunction with myFutureNC and the Education Strategy Group to conduct a
regional Gap Analysis and build educational attainment County Profiles.
• To provide recommendations regarding alignment of specific workforce competencies
(human talent) needed in not only the current workforce, but also the workforce of 2030.
• To identify resources and tools that establish a seamless transition from educational
institutions to gainful employment.
• To examine talent management and talent acquisition through enhanced “Credentials of
Value.”
• To develop funding sources that lead to a long-term, strategic approach to funding the
project.
Collaborative Region Assets Map
After identifying key community stakeholders that are instrumental in the success of the
attainment/alignment project, an inventory of community assets was established. Assets were
defined as entities, organizations, and initiatives that lead to a long-term, sustainable approach to
align credentials and degrees to the needs of local employers. Three major areas were identified
as assets not only in the project four-county initiative, but throughout the state of North Carolina.
They included the following areas:
• Community Advocates
• Educational Institutions
• Governmental Support

9. 7 | P a g e

10. 8 | P a g e
County Profiles and Attainment Dashboard
To help local North Carolina communities develop action plans driven by data, myFutureNC is
creating profiles for every county that highlight county-level education attainment and
performance on key myFutureNC education and workforce metrics. The county profiles are
intended to facilitate decision-making on local priorities, to increase attainment by highlighting
county and regional performance, and specific opportunities for improvement. Over time these
profiles could be used to map and analyze regional initiatives to increase postsecondary
attainment in North Carolina. In partnership with Carolina Demography, the myFutureNC team
developed initial County Attainment Profiles in collaboration with leaders from the Land of Sky
region. The county profiles and myFutureNC Attainment Dashboard is located at
www.myfuturenc.org.
Best Practices
Information provided by stakeholders within the Land of Sky counties led to researching best
practices and strategies around the following topics:
• Aligning Pre-K and Early Childhood Development initiatives, to establish social and
emotional skills that can be fostered throughout the educational journey.
• Development of K-16 career pathways aligned with student aspirations and employers’
needs.
• A tiered advising framework that provides a road map beginning in elementary school,
which is aligned with educational institutions and local employers.
• Establishing regional partnerships in which Pre-K, K-12, higher education, and private
sector business and workforce leaders are represented to advance alignment. This could
be in the form of a “P-20 Council” or some other formalized body.
• Connecting employers to educational partners in the interest of supporting curriculum
development or work-based learning experiences (internships, apprenticeships, etc.).
• Targeting special populations such as re-entry, veterans, immigrants, and students that are
economically or academically at risk.
• Revising educational placement policies and practices that impede education-to-
employment pipelines.
Employment Trends
Information from the State of Our Workforce: Western North Carolina (2018) provided the
following key takeaways:

11. 9 | P a g e
• Manufacturing is expected to grow the most in the next 3 years, adding as many as 7,500
new jobs. Over 50% of respondents are seeking candidates with apprenticeship
experience for future workforce.
• The Restaurant, Lodging, & Hospitality Services participants expect to add as many as
6,500 jobs in the next 3 years, second to manufacturing for number of jobs by industry.
• The Public Sector & Education participants rank four-year degree programs as the most
desirable credentials needed for future workforce.
• The Professional & Technical Services participants are comprised of small to midsize
businesses. Over 70% of respondents rely on friends and networks for sourcing talent,
while just 50% responded that they use online job portals.
• The Retail participants rate professionalism, responsibility and self-discipline, and taking
initiative as the soft skills most difficult to find in the workforce.
• The Construction & Skilled Trades participants rank apprenticeship programs,
community college programs, and professional certifications as the most desirable
credentials they are seeking in their future workforce.
• The Healthcare & Social Assistance Industry rank on the job training and continuing
education through community colleges highest for workforce training programs they plan
to use.
• The Energy, Utilities, & Cleantech participants rank quality of talent pipeline higher than
average at 2.9 out of 5, and placed equal weight on community college programs and 4-
year degrees.
• IT, Software, & Analytics participants rank 4-year degree colleges and universities
highest for credentials employers are seeking in their future workforce.
• Logistics, Transportation, & Warehousing participants had the lowest rating of the
quality for talent pipeline.
Source: https://www.ashevillechamber.org/get-engaged/advocacy/state-of-workforce
The implications of these takeaways for educators and employers include:
• Aligning Educational Programs to Current and Future Employment Growth Areas
• Aligning Educational Objectives and Outcomes to Needed Employee Competencies
• Enhancing Ongoing Communication Channels with Local Employers
• Enhancing Community Marketing of Educational Programs
• Implementing “Credentials of Value”
• Identifying Needed Resources to Implement an Attainment Model
• Implementing “Best Practices” to Align Education and Workforce Attainment
The two major themes that the Collaborative is seeing develop are that there is a skills gap
between current human talent in the workforce and needed competencies for future jobs, as well
as employers often facing challenges recruiting external human talent to fill positions. The
picture that is emerging is that WNC needs to “grow” its own human talent, while also exploring
internal and external human talent processes. The Collaborative is currently utilizing
information from Chamber of Commerce offices, workforce development boards, economic
developers, employers, the Department of Commerce, and the Career One Stop Center

12. 10 | P a g e
(https://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel) to identify foundational skills/competencies
and specific industry skills/competencies needed for current and future jobs.
Next Steps
Due to continued social/physical distancing related to COVID-19, the Collaborative’s next steps
are based on continuous planning in order to develop a model that can be replicated throughout
North Carolina. Next steps include:
• Working with the Education Strategy Group, a nationally recognized consulting firm, the
Collaborative will be comparing national “best practices” to local/regional initiatives to
develop goals and strategies for the Land of Sky counties.
• Aligning workforce competencies to educational objectives and outcomes to ensure that
Land of Sky-area credentials and degrees prepare students with the skills needed for
current and future jobs. A challenge that exists is predicting future jobs and skill sets.
The Collaborative will be utilizing the Building Blocks Model Foundational
Competencies developed by the Employment and Training Administration Division of
the U.S. Department of Labor to align “soft skills” that are suggested for all employees.
The Building Blocks model can be viewed here:
https://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel/competency-models/building-blocks-
model.aspx
• Examining specific jobs and future jobs based on Industry-wide Technical Competencies
to perform a skills gap analysis for the Land of Sky Region.
• Creating marketing tools that will tell the story of the Collaborative and why its work is
important to the economy of the Land of Sky Region and the well-being of the area’s
inhabitants.
• Establishing specific goals, objectives, strategies, and metrics that will become the
Collaborative’s Strategic Plan. Each county will tailor the strategic plan for its specific
area of western North Carolina. The Collaborative will complete the planning phase by
communicating findings to stakeholders, sponsoring an Alignment Summit, and
developing/sharing the attainment model with all North Carolina counties. Realizing that
there may be various levels of social/physical distance restrictions as the project moves
forward, the Collaborative is currently assessing the usefulness for the following Zoom
discussions:
• Pre-K to High School Student Retention Strategies
• K-16 Alignment Strategies
• FAFSA Completion Strategies
• College Student Recruiting and Retention Strategies
• Aligning Student Outcomes to Employment Competencies
• Targeted Employment Recruitment Strategies
For additional information, please contact Dr. Joseph Fox (joseph@landofsky.org).