Durable Skills Are Today’s Human Resources Currency

Not all high school graduates continue their education at a two- or four-year college or university. Many choose to enter the job market or enlist in a military branch. Whichever path they choose, North Carolina intends for them to be not just successful, but in demand by employers or supervisors. In October 2022, the state’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI) introduced the Portrait of a Graduate, a visioning process for ensuring that students graduate high school equipped with soft skills that increasingly are required by employers. Battelle for Kids, a national nonprofit that works with educators and communities to improve learning outcomes, is the developer of the Portrait of a Graduate; it works with independent school districts across the country and increasingly with states, such as North Carolina.

“A number of states are engaged in this kind of work,” Dr. Karen Garza, president and CEO of Battelle for Kids, tells Site Selection. “But I give North Carolina and DPI Superintendent Catherine Truitt a lot of credit, because they’re leading the way in thinking differently about their education systems today. We have to expand our definition of success and equip our students in new and different ways. This world is very complex and rapidly changing. The skills needed today are very different than the skills required in the past.”

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