NC Portrait of a Graduate Skills Meet Critical Workforce Needs, N.C. Commerce Analysis Finds

Durable skills included in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Portrait of a Graduate are essential to every occupation in the state, and jobseekers need these skills to meet employer demand, according to a new analysis from the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis Division (LEAD).

The findings were presented to the State Board of Education today. The data highlights the need to continue integrating durable skills into everyday learning across North Carolina classrooms, said State Superintendent Catherine Truitt.

"Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders and I share a passion for workforce development. This research echoes what both of us regularly hear from employers and underscores the importance of our Portrait of a Graduate work,” Truitt said. “In addition to academic knowledge, our graduates must also develop the ability to collaborate and communicate with others, adapt to challenging situations and think critically about the information presented to them to excel in the 21st century workforce.”

The Portrait’s seven durable skills, as launched in the fall of 2022, are adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learner’s mindset and personal responsibility. The NC Portrait skills were synced with data from the national Occupational Information Network (O*NET) on skills and abilities that influence job performance.

LEAD researchers mapped these skills to the NC Star Jobs rating system, which identifies promising career paths based on average wages, growth rate and the number of projected job openings.

Occupations are rated 1-5 stars, with five stars representing jobs with the most promising career prospects. For this analysis, LEAD also assigned each occupation a "Portrait of a Graduate” score based on the importance of each durable skill to the role. The analysts then assembled lists of the top 15 occupations that most closely align with each skill, plus a list of the top 15 among all skills.

Examples of four- and five-star jobs, which are classified as having “very good” or the “best” career prospects, that made the top 15 for each durable skill include architects (adaptability), lodging managers (collaboration), lawyers (communication), electronics engineers (critical thinking), registered nurses (empathy), web designers (learner’s mindset) and construction managers (personal responsibility).

Key findings of the analysis include:

• In every occupation and every “career cluster,” the Portrait’s durable skills rank at least as “somewhat important,” meaning that workers need those skills to be effective in their jobs.
• Occupations that value durable skills as "very important” tend to also be those that pay better.
• Projected employment growth tends to be higher for occupations that place the highest importance on durable skills.
• Occupations that require at least a bachelor’s degree tend to place a higher level of importance on durable skills than those requiring less education; however, these skills are important for jobs across every level of education. For example, many occupations requiring an associate degree or less – such as electricians, chefs and nurses – classify the durable skills as either “important” or “very important.”

“As we celebrate the Year of Public Schools, this innovative research highlights the fact that increasing job readiness and career awareness among young people helps North Carolina respond to the needs of businesses and remain ‘First in Talent,’” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “By aligning our education and workforce development systems around the skills that are in high demand, we can help our students, jobseekers and employers succeed.”

This new analysis builds upon the strong collaboration between the Departments of Commerce and Public Instruction, alongside other partners, on various workforce and career development projects, including the award-winning NCcareers.org website. NCcareers.org aims to be North Carolina’s central online resource for students, parents, educators, jobseekers and career counselors looking for high-quality job and career information. The site contains detailed profiles on more than 800 different occupations.

The Portrait’s durable skills were identified by North Carolina educators, students, families, higher education, workforce development boards and business leaders to better equip students for success after high school and to prepare them for the pathway of their choosing after graduation.

In June, NCDPI released a set of performance tasks, created by teachers for teachers, that will be used in classrooms starting this fall. The tasks are learning experiences that incorporate the Portrait’s durable skills with academics aligned to the NC Standard Course of Study.

Several performance tasks encourage career exploration and civic engagement by challenging students to learn about issues in their communities and engage with professionals in related industries.

Earlier this year, NCDPI collaborated with the NC Chamber Foundation on a K-12 Talent Pipeline Toolkit to help strengthen connections between employers and schools.

“I want every North Carolina student to leave our public schools prepared to enter the workforce, join the military or pursue higher education,” Truitt said. “We must integrate durable skills into classroom curricula so that our graduates are equipped to succeed in family-sustaining jobs that are essential to our state’s economy.”