North Carolina Received $4 Million Grant for Student Skills
The new state program aims to help North Carolina students highlight soft skills like empathy and collaboration on transcripts.
Updated on Sept. 27, 2026 in Secondary Education
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In September 2026, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction secured a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund the Skills for the Future program. This initiative helps a pilot cohort of 6,000 students document essential character traits alongside their traditional academic grades.
Why it matters
The program seeks to provide a more holistic view of student capabilities for future college or career applications while addressing post-pandemic student disengagement. It responds to recent reports that many employers struggle to hire candidates who lack these core workplace abilities.
The grant covers the development of the Skills for the Future program, which currently tracks 7 key student skills across 6,000 pilot participants. This initiative aims to address a talent gap where nearly 50% of employers report hiring difficulty linked to applicant soft skills.
The players
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
The state agency responsible for overseeing public education and implementing academic standards in North Carolina.
U.S. Department of Education
The federal executive department that manages national education policy and provides funding for state school initiatives.
U.S. Department of Commerce
The federal agency focused on economic growth and job market analysis.
The details
The program allows students to build supplementary transcripts that highlight seven core competencies: adaptability, empathy, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, a learner's mindset, and personal responsibility. Students demonstrate these traits by participating in sports, internships, volunteering, and employment. The department is also working to build a searchable database of lesson plans and educational resources to support this training.
Timeline
In June 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce identified soft-skill gaps among job applicants.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction received the federal grant funding in September 2026.
The Home Front
This program reflects a broader shift in education toward documenting non-academic indicators to improve long-term student competitiveness. It follows a pattern set by the U.S. Department of Commerce report on labor market soft skill gaps.
Families with students in the pilot program should discuss how extracurricular activities like sports or volunteering can serve as evidence for these new transcripts. Parents can encourage their children to identify which of the seven core skills they are demonstrating through their existing daily commitments.
The takeaway
The Skills for the Future program provides a practical way for students to showcase their character beyond typical grade-point averages. Families should track whether their local school begins offering these supplementary transcripts as the program expands across the state.
Further reading
Learn more about local educational initiatives in North Carolina Secondary Education.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Daily Tar Heel.
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Should schools prioritize teaching and tracking soft skills alongside traditional academic grades?
