North Carolina's award-winning career development platform, NCcareers.org, has served one million North Carolinians, marking a 95% increase over the last 12 months and solidifying the platform's role as North Carolina's central hub for career exploration and planning. The free, comprehensive career development platform generated 6.6 million pageviews and 970,000 users in 2025 as students, job seekers, educators, and workforce professionals across the state turned to it for data-driven career guidance.
The surge in usage follows the platform's launch of tools to help students complete Career Development Plans (CDP), meeting the legislature's Session Law 2023-134 requirement for all 8th and 10th grade students. More than 45,000 career development plans have been created through NCcareers.org, offering school districts a no-cost solution while enabling educators to better guide students in exploring careers. In partnership with the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC), students can continue accessing and updating their plans beyond high school.
"NCcareers.org represents a critical investment in North Carolina's workforce development infrastructure," said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. "By providing free, data-driven career planning tools, we're ensuring that students and job seekers across the state can make informed decisions about their futures based on real labor market need. And that makes NCcareers extremely helpful for our business community, as well."
The usage data reveals strong interest in healthcare and financial careers, with Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurses, and Financial Managers ranking as the three most-viewed occupations by users which reflects both statewide labor market demands and promising career pathways for North Carolinians.
"I'm proud of our collaboration on NCcareers with Commerce and our higher education partners,” said N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green. ”This platform ensures every North Carolina student, no matter where they live, can connect the dots between what they're learning and the skill and education needs of local employers. With new schools continually adopting NCcareers, I'm confident one million users is a milestone we'll far exceed this year."
"NCcareers is a resource and tool that supports how we advise and coach our high school students towards building a plan,” said Dr. Marsha Thomas, Director of Secondary Education Partnerships at South Piedmont Community College. “When the students see the data on their future profession or career field and how taking courses at South Piedmont will support their goals with a focus of being debt-free, the excitement is inevitable."
From rural counties to urban centers, NCcareers.org serves North Carolinians at all stages of their educational and work careers, at no cost. Educators use it to support students in Career Development Plans, workforce counselors deploy it to help adults transition to new opportunities, and individuals use it independently to make informed career decisions.
"We often lack the resources we need to do the work required in our communities,” explains Brandi Bragg, who works with students and adults in rural communities as the Workforce Connector at NENC Career Pathways. “NCcareers provides access to assessments, labor market data and information that would be difficult to convey without this platform. Personally, Reality Check is my favorite tool. I have seen countless lightbulb moments from students and adults as they recognize how they want to live and consider the careers they need to meet that goal."
NCcareers.org was used in a 10-week employability workshop at Kittrell Job Corps to explore four career pathways: Advanced Manufacturing, Construction, Healthcare, and IT.
“As they navigated the website, Job Corp students explored wage data, local employers, projected career growth, and other valuable insights,” said Tatum Ryan, NextGen Data Analyst and Team Lead at Kerr-Tar NCWorks. “For many participants, discovering the number of local employers offering strong, well-paying opportunities was both eye-opening and motivating. It helped reinforce that they can build stable, successful careers right here in their own communities."
As NCcareers.org moves into 2026, several new features are in development:
- AI Mock Interview Tool – Helping users develop interview skills and build confidence
- Business Directory – Connecting users to local businesses that match their occupational interests
- Enhanced Career Path Builder – Helping users identify future occupations and how additional credentials can expand their options
Launched in 2020, NCcareers.org is managed by the NC Department of Commerce's Labor and Economic Analysis Division in partnership with 12 education and workforce agencies. The platform provides free comprehensive career planning tools for middle and high school students, college students, adult job seekers, career changers, educators, career counselors, and workforce development professionals across North Carolina.
"NCcareers.org has been an invaluable resource for helping our NextGen youth explore and identify career interests they may never have considered,” shared Claudia Furges, Career Advisor at Northeastern Workforce Development Board. “The Assessment Reality Check, combined with labor market information, gives them a realistic understanding of the education, training, and income needed to achieve their desired lifestyle."
Key platform features include:
- Career Assessments – Interest Finder, Quick Start, and Budget Reality Check help users identify career interests and understand lifestyle-to-income connections
- Career Development Plans – Launched in 2024 to support Session Law 2023-134, the CDP tool guides students through self-assessment, career pathway exploration, academic alignment, and portfolio creation
- Labor Market Information – Current salary data, job growth projections, and regional employment trends
- Career Pathways – Educational requirements, training programs, and credential information for hundreds of careers
- STAR Jobs – Five-star rating system identifying promising careers based on wages, projected growth, and job openings, with regional brochures highlighting top in-demand occupations by education level
- Lesson Plans – Over 60 professionally prepared lesson plans offer educators at all levels the ability to readily incorporate NCcareers.org into their teaching
For more information or to start exploring career paths, visit NCcareers.org.