As the state government moves funding from regional economic development groups and puts that responsibility under the Department of Commerce, North Carolina’s Eastern Region moves forward to becoming a private nonprofit.
The organization, currently covering 13 Eastern North Carolina counties, is refocusing its mission as it makes those changes.
In a meeting with the media Wednesday, NCER President and CEO John Chaffee said there had been some “mission creep” with NCER as it sought different methods for attracting commerce to the area.
In a meeting with state legislators, NCER was asked to promote filmmaking in the region, in the hopes it would lead to higher tourism. That’s one of the jobs the new private entity will not be pursuing.
One of the main goals, Chaffee said, is to increase the work skills of the region’s residents and bring that knowledge base to prospective companies.
“We hear feedback — ‘Why do you think you can get that client’ — from our local developers,” Chaffee said. “ ‘What was the reason you got eliminated?’ Well, they said they really questioned our ability to deliver on the talent, the workforce talent that they need to be successful.”
He added, “You keep hearing that often enough and we finally said, ‘You know, we need to do something about that.’ It’s not just all about bricks and mortar. Part of it is putting yourself in a position to really be competitive.”
NCER’s workforce development initiative grew out if that response.
“It’s helping our communities to better prepare their citizens to go to work in today’s employment environment,” Chaffee said. “The nice thing is, we’re yielding success.”
Over a five-year period, NCER invested $1.25 million into the initiative, which yielded a 73.6 percent positive response from regional business leaders, according to a survey conducted by National Community Development Services.
Lenoir County Economic Development Executive Director Mark Pope said he supports regional cooperation, but hopes the new NCER entity won’t drain funds from other groups with similar goals.
“I do believe in regional marketing and being a regional team,” Pope said. “I think we get more things done with one big voice. The thing that concerns me is when they go after private funds, does it affect our local economic development partners, like C-100s, the chambers (of commerce). And some of these communities have economic development commissions, which also get private funds.”
NCER estimates its private transition to be complete by July 1, 2014.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.