Workforce Development

Making North Carolina Job Ready

Workforce development is a primary focus for Governor Cooper as he seeks to ensure more North Carolinians are ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

Governor Cooper’s NC Job Ready initiative is helping people get good-paying jobs to support themselves and their families by investing in workforce development and job training. NC Job Ready helps connect workers with job training and employers with the skilled workers they need to grow and succeed.

To help people complete the training they need to get good jobs, Governor Cooper created the Finish Line Grants program. The program helps community college students who face unforeseen financial emergencies like medical bills, car repairs and childcare costs stay in school. Already, more than 500 Finish Line Grants have helped students stay on track to getting a good-paying job. Governor Cooper wants to expand the program to students at all colleges in North Carolina.

Gov. Cooper and other North Carolina leaders are committed to the My Future NC goal of ensuring that 2 million working-age North Carolinians have a degree or credential beyond high school by 2030. To get there, he proposed NC GROW (Getting Ready for Opportunities in the Workforce) a scholarship and aid program to help people get community college degrees and job training.  NC GROW would cover last-dollar tuition and fees for North Carolina community college students enrolled in high-demand fields like construction, information technology, and electrical line work. The program would also provide up to $1,000 per community college student to pursue non-credit, short-term workforce credentials for jobs in these fields.

Learn more about Governor Cooper’s efforts to build a strong workforce.