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04.06.2016

Good Work is Happening in NC—

We Need Much More of It.

Dear friends,

I heard it a week ago repeatedly during my trip to Beijing, and returnedto the drumbeat of the same message: We can’t know the future, butwith some certainty we project, and must prepare for, changes to theworld of work. The curve-bending trends we confront are:

Tech: Technology advancements that are changing everything!AI: Artificial intelligence that, within a decade, will be better at alot of things than we are.Urbanization: People continuing to move to metro areas forjobs, and bringing along with them big demographic changes.Careers: A project-based world where fundamental shifts—suchas, the influence of the freelancing and the gig economy—aredemanding new employability skills.

Given the trends we face, it should not be a surprise that the thousandsof people who participated in IEI’s FutureWork convenings before,during and after the Emerging Issues Forum repeatedly emphasizedand prioritized swelling opportunities for project-based learning –teaching technical, academic and employability skills through real worldapplications and/or in real work environments. It was the single priorityon which every group convened agreed!

How Does Your CountyRate on the Disruption

Index?How vulnerable is your county to

future jobs disruption due toautomation and technology? See IEI'sFutureWork Disruption Index for NorthCarolina and access interactive maps

of your county.

Sector-focusedHackathon Recap!

Did you miss the 2016 EmergingIssues FutureWork Forum Leadership

Hackathons? Don't fret - catch theDay Two Twitter archive!

Did You Know?Four counties in NC face the loss of

more than 40% of current jobs due toautomation. Find out which four, and

discover more data like this in theEmerging Issues Commons.

We need your leadership to advance this essential work.

First, we want to hear from you. Why is project-based learning soimportant? Why don't we already have more of it? What are theopportunities for taking its value to scale? Please take our survey to helpus answer some of these big questions.

Then, later this month, we will host separate virtual engagementactivities focused on five sectors: Banking & Finance, EducationTechnology, Energy, Healthcare, and Government/Smart Communities.These collaborations build on our “Leadership Hackathon” sessionsduring the “FutureWork” Emerging Issues Forum. Let’s dig deeper. Weneed your feedback on how to best expand project-based learning toprepare new generations for work opportunities in these importantsectors.

Register for a sector-focused virtual engagement activity, and we’ll sendyou sneak preview info and email reminders!

Speaking of sneak previews, I want to share two upcoming opportunitiesto move forward. First, because we are confident that we will be well-prepared by the insights generated through the April virtual gatherings,IEI is ramping up North Carolina’s future jobs discussion by bringing theshow on the road – literally! In May and June, we’ll launch astatewide FutureWork Prosperity Tour.

By bus, we will land at schools, universities,and companies with great insights to share. Ofcourse, we will also be hosting regionalconvenings in each of the state’s eightprosperity zones. With support from DukeEnergy Foundation and the LocalGovernment Federal Credit Union, we willsoon be in a town near you! I will share detailsof tour stops in our May newsletter, but if you want to be one of the first

We thank the Duke EnergyFoundation for its generous support

of IEI's post-Forum work and theLocal Government Federal CreditUnion for ensuring high-value youth

engagement is key to all of IEI's work.

We owe an additional thank you to the2016 Working Group, which firstraised the powerful implications of

scaling project-based learning in oneof its initial recommendations.

We offer our gratitude to thesethought leaders and experts fromindustry, economic and workforce

development, education, nonprofitsand government.

to know as soon as plans for your region are finalized, please sign uphere.

Second, you know better than to think the work stops in June. In July,IEI will begin a three-month data driven campaign. Other states havehad a head start on NC, but we can promise that no other state in thenation will have the breadth and depth of insight into the specific skillsimplicated by expected changes in the job market.

Before I close, it’s important to applaud some other organizations in ourstate doing great things that wonderfully complement IEI’s focus onwork. Just today, for instance, I am attending the “ALL IN NC Summit”hosted by the NC Chamber, Golden Leaf Foundation, Belk Endowment,and SAS. State and community leaders are responding to discerningdata the NC Chamber collected on economic diversificationopportunities for rural communities and a new report by MDC and theBelk Endowment that looks more particularly at sectors of opportunity.These very useful studies join a recent North Carolina Rural Centerreport that is the focus of “Rural Counts,” a series of meetingshappening this month in six communities across the state. I hope youwill read these reports and attend as many of the associated regionalmeetings as you can.

With all of the good efforts in NC, and with your continued leadership,there is no way that this state will not be well prepared for thedisruptions of FutureWork.

Warmly,

Anita R. Brown-Graham

Anita R. Brown-GrahamDirector, Institute for Emerging Issuesarbrown@ncsu.edu

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Institute for Emerging IssuesNC State UniversityCampus Box 7406Raleigh, NC 27695-7406Visit us at emergingissues.org