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'Leaky Pipeline' Report Points To Coming Skilled Worker Shortage In North Carolina

Prospective students tour Elon University in Elon, N.C. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)

A new report warns that a “leaky pipeline” of people without advanced degrees will leave North Carolina without enough skilled workers.

The study found that 47 percent of state residents ages 25 to 64 have a postsecondary degree or nondegree credentials. The document says that needs to rise to at least 60 percent by 2030 to meet demands for a highly educated workforce.

The News and Observer reports a major stumbling block is the vast disparities across the state in terms of graduation rates and educational attainment.

The report found only four out of the state's 100 counties had populations where at least half the adults have an associate's degree or higher.

While the study notes significant improvement in the state's high school graduation rate, only a small percentage of high school freshmen went on to graduate in four years, immediately enroll in a state school or community college, and graduate on time.

The study was conducted by UNC-Chapel Hill's Carolina Demography and the John M. Belk Endowment. It will be used to help guide the state's path forward in achieving education goals. 

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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