Enrollment required: North Carolina's workforce and companies benefit when business takes an active role in schools and state government.

• Position: Company overview

What is business's role in education?

Atkinson: It's a partnership. Constant interaction between businesses and schools is required to prepare a workforce. I have traveled across the state over the years and have seen many changes that are a direct result of business taking part in education. If I could wave a magic wand, I would get every teacher in North Carolina at least three business buddies who would bring relevancy and support to lessons. I also would ensure that our 1.5 million children all have a business experience during high school. When I taught, students who had that were head and shoulders above the maturity level and soft skills of the students who did not. Setting that goal would go a long way toward better preparing a workforce. It takes time and people to coordinate ongoing work experience for every student.

Breckenridge: Businesses help teachers and students understand the breadth of what's out there. More businesses are sharing their challenges and asking to be part of the solutions. Our weeklong Students at Work project introduced more than 30,000 students to career opportunities in 2013. Students who participate learn what it takes to land higher-level jobs at companies. But there are students who either cannot or do not want to go to college. In Asheville, for example, the chamber of commerce pulled together 70 businesses for the project. The largest ones were Mission Healthcare, Kelly Services Inc. and The Biltmore Co., but small mom-and-pop shops also were included. Students visited potters shops, restaurants and other businesses to see firsthand the skills needed for those jobs, which don't require a college degree. That experience exposed them to what's available. There's an emphasis on workforce development and training from the governor's office and the Commerce Department. Education is part of every economic-development discussion they have.

Garry: We need to bring business into schools, too. Companies are asked to help improve education, but many haven't been in a school lately to see the issues or the accomplishments.

Cheek: So many times the valuable learning experience comes from students discovering what they don't like. If a student wants to be a doctor, for example, but detests the sight of blood, then they need to find something else. We have strong programs at our middle and high schools that help guide students. We talk about internships with them. We believe that workforce development has to start at the grass-roots level. If you can recruit and retain your own employees, they'll stay longer. Biltmore came to us after a local newspaper called one of the high schools a dropout factory. That was when the statewide dropout rate was high, and it wanted to help change that. Biltmore helped the school system create Educating Generations of Employees, where schools select ninth-graders and Biltmore employees help develop their soft skills--first impressions, employer expectations, interviewing, resume writing. It's a four-year program that includes the opportunity to interview for a summer hospitality camp. At the end they can work at...