North Carolina faces a degree shortfall in key industries, report finds
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Students celebrate graduation at N.C. Central University in Durham in 2024. Photo: DeAndres Royal/North Carolina University via Getty Images
North Carolina is not graduating enough students with degrees in several critical industries to meet a growing demand for workers in the state, a new report from the UNC System says.
Why it matters: The report makes the case that the state's 16 public universities need to produce 5,000 to 10,000 more degrees every year to meet demand from workers, especially in industries like health care, engineering and education.
Driving the news: The UNC System's report, titled the "Workforce Alignment Report," is part of a new effort to better understand the relationship between which jobs are being created and which degrees are being completed.
- The report will be refreshed every two years, according to Mary Varghese, vice president of strategic initiatives for the UNC System.
What they're saying: "North Carolina's economy is growing faster than our workforce," Varghese told Axios. The UNC System needs to be "focused on expanding education in high-demand fields so that North Carolinians can fill those jobs."
Between the lines: Because of the strong growth of the state's economy, she noted, the state has filled the gap by attracting new residents, from other states and internationally.
- That has made the state's population one of the fastest-growing in the country for the past decade. However, the UNC System doesn't want to be in a position where the state has to rely on new residents taking those jobs, she said, especially if migration slows.
- "In critical workforce areas — like nursing, like teaching, like engineering — we also [have] a national shortage [of workers]," Varghese said. "So we actually really need to think about organic in-state growth to address [the shortages]."
State of play: Already, the UNC System is putting money toward addressing these shortfalls, specifically investing $29 million in 2024 to expand nursing programs at 12 universities.
- The N.C. General Assembly also invested $125 million in 2021 to expand engineering programs in the state, growing the number of engineering bachelor's degree-seeking students by 22% over the past five years.
By the numbers: At the bachelor's degree level, the UNC System found there were annual degree gaps of:
- 1,001 degrees in accounting
- 1,439 degrees in education
- 2,662 degrees in engineering
- 806 degrees in nursing