A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT establishing the north carolina skills gap study.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The NC Works Commission (Commission) shall conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of the State's anticipated workforce demand and educational supply for such demand, to the extent practicable within available resources and subject to the availability of data currently collected by and accessible to State agencies. The review shall be made in consultation with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor, the Department of Public Instruction, The University of North Carolina General Administration, the North Carolina Community College System, and any other entity the Commission deems appropriate.
SECTION 2.  The Commission shall submit an initial written report detailing its findings and recommendations relating to the workforce demand, education supply to such demand, and gaps to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (JLEOC) by February 1, 2018, and its final written report no later than 45 days before the 2019 Legislative Session. The Commission shall provide periodic progress reports to update the JLEOC at least every six months after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 3.  The report to the JLEOC shall include all of the following:
(1)	The State's anticipated workforce demands and needs, including two‑year and 10‑year labor market projects by (i) region, (ii) occupational clusters, and (iii) educational requirements.
(2)	The State's educational supply for such demand, including, but not limited to, degrees and certificates provided by high school programs, apprenticeship programs, public or private workforce training programs, community colleges, and public and private universities and colleges.
(3)	A state and regional skills gap analysis comparing our workforce demands and educational supply.
(4)	A set of recommendations on how to efficiently and effectively close the skills gap that include, but are not limited to, (i) what degrees and certificates should be established to address our regional skills gap; (ii) what educational programs constitute a duplication of effort; and (iii) what data gaps exist to allow the Commission to provide a more detailed and sophisticated analysis, including estimated cost to purchase or secure such data.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.