The call to innovate: positioning the region as a magnet for talent, creativity and investment.

• Position: RESEARCH NORTH CAROLINA: EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

North Carolina is the fourth largest manufacturing state in the country. This sector is changing rapidly, with companies developing and adopting new technologies to fuel design, innovation and production of the best products possible. Our advanced manufacturers rely heavily on skilled STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Mathematics) workers, and STEAM jobs are expected to grow by 17% between 2008 and 2018, with 91% requiring post-secondary education. Additionally, a recent nationwide survey of employers found an intensifying call for developing creative and entrepreneurial students and graduates--independent thinkers who are problem solvers and innovators. In fact, 95% of employers say they give hiring preference to college graduates with skills that enable them to contribute to innovation in the workplace, and more than 9 in 10 agree that "innovation is essential" to their organization's continued success. Unfortunately, at the same time, eastern North Carolina is experiencing the significant loss of its creative, technically-capable young people.

Facing challenges, finding opportunities

For the many that want to stay, there is a need for quality jobs, a creative culture, entrepreneurial opportunities and an education system intentionally linked to their employment goals. To stem the loss of creative talent from the region, parents, students, educators, transitioning veterans and incumbent workers must be shown clear pathways connecting education and training to future employment opportunities and careers as intra/entrepreneurs. In turn, STEAM graduates/ workers with the skills, knowledge and abilities to create, design and execute innovative solutions to real-world problems are in great demand by advanced-manufacturing employers. Retaining these skilled and talented people will drive economic transformation in eastern North Carolina.

Robust response, real results

Committed to student success, public service and regional transformation, East Carolina University (ECU) remains best positioned to mobilize regional skills, knowledge and abilities and to build the next great creative class. Near term, ECU is partnering with community colleges to transition service members and veterans into North Carolina's advanced-manufacturing jobs. Longer term, ECU is engaged with regional parents, students, educators and employers to build clearer pathways connecting education with employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Together...