North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein unveiled the state’s new “First in Opportunity” strategic economic development plan last week, outlining a statewide blueprint focused on workforce development, infrastructure, housing and regional competitiveness as officials prepare for continued population growth.
The plan updates the state’s previous “First in Talent” framework and sets economic priorities through 2030, emphasizing broader access to economic opportunity across urban and rural communities.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDOC) gathered input from a Strategic Economic Development Plan Steering Committee made up of business, workforce development, education, nonprofit and local government leaders. Officials developed the strategy through a yearlong planning process that included statewide listening sessions and stakeholder outreach.
The framework centers on four strategic priorities: modernizing infrastructure, accelerating economic competitiveness, enhancing community well-being and building a future-ready workforce through stronger statewide coordination.
Modernizing infrastructure
The plan highlights the importance of finding new funding mechanisms to support infrastructure upgrades, particularly for water and wastewater, energy, transportation and digital connectivity. The state’s 5,200 public water systems are under increased pressure as the population grows. More than $5 billion in damage from Hurricane Helene exposed vulnerabilities in the state’s transportation infrastructure. Rapid growth in industries such as advanced manufacturing and technology is driving a need for digital infrastructure and energy capacity.
According to the plan, current funding sources are insufficient to meet the $200 billion investment needed over the next decade to support water, wastewater and transportation infrastructure. The plan promotes a mix of public and private funding sources to help close infrastructure gaps. State leaders hope to attract more private investment by supporting site certification and industrial readiness efforts. The framework also calls for improved tracking of key performance indicators and more proactive maintenance of roads and bridges to better withstand severe weather events.
Officials will identify new infrastructure development opportunities, improve training and assistance for utilities and design a dashboard to track water and wastewater capacity. The state’s electric grid will see improvements through new policies and better inventory tracking. The strategy also positions North Carolina to attract more data center development through outreach efforts and environmental planning tools.
Accelerating economic competitiveness
While recent investments in key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy and biotechnology have strengthened North Carolina’s economy, the strategy calls for additional support for emerging technologies and innovation. The plan points to artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and other breakthrough industries as an opportunity to establish North Carolina as a leader in these growing fields.
Officials will look to secure strategic partnerships to bring in public and private investment. The plan also proposes a cross-sector advisory board to improve coordination among universities, businesses and economic development agencies. The state also plans to expand and better promote existing business and technology support programs to help move ideas from development to commercialization.
The NCDOC will expand access to the tools and resources that help entrepreneurs and small businesses adopt AI and other advanced technologies. Officials also plan to improve access to investment networks and funding opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs.
Enhancing community well-being
North Carolina’s strategy places significant emphasis on quality-of-life issues, including housing affordability, child care availability and access to health care. The plan calls for expanding the state’s housing supply and increasing access to affordable housing through zoning reforms, infrastructure investment and incentives for development. It also prioritizes strengthening child care availability by supporting providers, expanding capacity and addressing workforce shortages in the sector to help more residents remain in or reenter the labor force.
In addition, the strategy promotes broader access to affordable health care, particularly in underserved and rural communities, with an emphasis on improving health outcomes, supporting workforce stability and reducing barriers that can limit economic participation.
Building a future-ready workforce
With AI reshaping industries and up to 40% of the state’s skilled workforce nearing retirement, the NCDOC projects nearly 1.9 million jobs could be unfilled by 2033. The state plans to prepare its workers for high-quality jobs through more education and skill training. The strategy calls for strengthening workforce pipelines in community-serving fields facing labor shortages, including education, health care and public service roles that support broader economic stability.
In addition, the framework highlights the need to prepare workers for economic and technological changes by expanding access to reskilling, upskilling and lifelong learning opportunities as industries evolve. State leaders also propose improving coordination between local and state governments to better align workforce policies, regional economic priorities and employer needs across North Carolina’s diverse regions.
The framework also focuses on simplifying access to workforce training programs, career services and hiring resources for employers and job seekers. Finally, the plan prioritizes stronger data integration and information sharing across workforce and education agencies to help policymakers, educators and employers better track labor market trends, measure outcomes and make more informed decisions about future workforce investments.
The strategy comes as North Carolina faces mounting pressure from rapid population growth, rising infrastructure demands and intensifying competition with neighboring states for business investment and skilled workers. State leaders say long-term economic success will depend not only on attracting employers, but also on addressing housing, infrastructure and workforce challenges that could limit future growth.
The “First in Opportunity” plan is expected to guide state and local economic development decisions through 2030, serving as a framework for agencies, universities, workforce organizations and private-sector partners. Officials say carrying out the strategy will require coordination across sectors and sustained investment to ensure economic growth reaches communities across urban and rural North Carolina.
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