North Carolina would fund job training and college transfer tools

The state would set aside $3.1 million yearly for ApprenticeshipNC administration and $1 million yearly for short-term workforce training grants. The Community Colleges System Office would receive the money for ApprenticeshipNC and the Short-Term Workforce Development Grant Program. Both amounts would come from the General Fund. The Community Colleges System Office could use up to 4% of the training grant program's funding to run that program. Both yearly funding amounts would begin in the 2026–2027 fiscal year. If enacted, the bill would generally take effect July 1, 2026.

The Department of Commerce would receive $350,000 yearly from the General Fund to support NC Workforce Credentials. Commerce would maintain a list of credentials employers value and related study programs. It would work with employers to link credentials with job demand, employment, wages, and paths to more advanced credentials. Commerce would give substantial weight to wages and evidence that earning a credential pays off for students. Work location data would be collected voluntarily and follow state and federal privacy protections. Commerce would consult college systems and other relevant groups about federal Workforce Pell Grant rules and data sharing across state government. Commerce would encourage credential issuers to submit records to the North Carolina Longitudinal Data System, which links records over time, and could use up to $50,000 yearly for outreach. The yearly funding would begin in the 2026–2027 fiscal year.

The State Education Assistance Authority would include private colleges in the common digital transcript. The University of North Carolina System Office would support college credit transfer tools. The transcript direction covers private colleges and universities in North Carolina. Transfer tools at participating colleges would help students and advisors compare options for moving course credits. The state would set aside $2.5 million once from the General Fund for transfer technology. The agencies would work with public education systems and private college representatives as directed. Reports would cover transcript progress and costs, participating colleges, transfer results, and recommendations. Transfer results would be broken down by student characteristics where data are available. The transfer initiative would run for the 2026–2027 academic year, with funding for that fiscal year. Both agencies would report by March 15, 2027; this is not a deadline to finish the transcript.

The Department of Commerce would use $1.5 million from the Information Technology Reserve to improve NC Careers. NC Careers provides career information and planning tools for students, parents, educators, jobseekers, and career counselors. Improvements would prioritize personal career planning, links to study programs and job credentials, licensing information where relevant, and tools for career advisors. The one-time funding would be for the 2026–2027 fiscal year.

The North Carolina Collaboratory would receive $600,000 once from the General Fund to evaluate the programs and report results to lawmakers. The evaluation would cover the apprenticeship, credential, college transfer, and career planning programs described in Parts I through V. Reports would include participation, spending, and results for education completion and employment. Funding would be for the 2026–2027 fiscal year. Evaluations would continue through the 2029–2030 academic year, with reports due each March 15 through March 15, 2030.