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HB 1163

Workforce Act of 2026.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Mary Belk and 34 co-sponsors

HB 1163 strengthens North Carolina’s workforce pipeline by expanding apprenticeships, aligning credentials with industry needs, and speeding credit transfer to improve pathways to

Passed 1st Reading
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Bill Summary · HB 1163

Summary of HB 1163: Workforce Act of 2026 (North Carolina, 2025 Session)

Purpose and intent

HB 1163 seeks to continue and expand North Carolina’s workforce development efforts. It prioritizes modernizing education-to-workforce pathways, improving credit acquisition and transfer, enhancing career information sharing among higher education institutions and employers, and expanding employer-recognized credentials to provide faster and clearer routes to credential completion and career success. The act combines funding for apprenticeship support, credentialing programs, seamless transfer technology, career information systems, bonus compensation for teachers, and a Career Development Plan pilot program in middle/high schools.

Key provisions

Part II — Apprenticeship NC Support

  • Finds value in work-based learning and the ApprenticeshipNC model.
  • Appropriates $3,100,000 in recurring General Fund support to the Community Colleges System Office for the 2026–2027 fiscal year onward to administer ApprenticeshipNC.

Part III — NC Workforce Credentials

  • Establishes a program to identify industry-valued credentials, align programs of study, and coordinate with federal Workforce Pell Grant rules.
  • Appropriates $350,000 in recurring General Fund support to the Department of Commerce starting 2026–2027 for operational expenses and staffing related to NC Workforce Credentials.
  • Requires data coordination with employers on: labor market demand, job placement, wage outcomes, credential stackability, and voluntary work location data (privacy-protected) to analyze outcomes.
  • Mandates stakeholder consultation with UNC System, Community Colleges System Office, and others to align with Pell Grants.
  • Requires issuers of credentials to report data to the NC Collaboratory and the Longitudinal Data System for integration into the Licenses and Credentials Data Warehouse.
  • Emphasizes weighting wage outcomes in credential list development.
  • Allocates up to $50,000/year for outreach.

Short-Term Workforce Development Grants (Additional Funds)

  • Increases funding for the Community Colleges Short-Term Workforce Development Grant Program.
  • Adds an administrative cost allowance of up to 4% of program funds.
  • Appropriates $1,000,000 in recurring General Fund starting 2026–2027 for the Short-Term Program.

Part IV — Seamless Postsecondary Transfer

  • Part 4a: Include private colleges/universities in the NC Common Digital Transcript initiative.
    • By March 15, 2027, report progress, costs, and steps to expand transcript access to private institutions.
  • Part 4b: Expansion of transfer technology
    • UNC System Office, in coordination with CCSO and IT, to expand transfer technology to speed the credit transfer process, reduce time and cost to degrees.
    • Appropriates $2,500,000 in nonrecurring funds (2026–2027) for the UNC System to develop/scale transfer technology.
    • Requires a progress report by March 15, 2027, with demographics and transfer outcomes.

Part V — NC Careers Enhancement

  • Finds NC Careers is central to career information/navigation and requires funds to enhance the site.
  • Appropriates $200,000 nonrecurring and $585,000 recurring starting 2026–2027 to contract with Year13, Inc. to replatform and maintain NC Careers, integrating career planning, programs of study, credentials, licensure info, and counselor usage.

Part VI — North Carolina Collaboratory Evaluation

  • Directs Collaboratory to annually evaluate Parts I–V through 2029–2030, with annual reporting by March 15 to the Education Oversight Committee.
  • Appropriates $600,000 (nonrecurring) to UNC Collaboratory for evaluation in 2026–2027.

Part VII — Career Development Pilot Program

  • Creates an Annual Career Development Plan Pilot Program for seventh graders in select partnered schools (2026–2028 cohorts) to review Plans annually through high school.
  • Requires counselor support, parental involvement, and financial aid information sharing starting in grades 10–12.
  • Requires annual reporting on program effectiveness, with a final report by August 15, 2033.
  • Effective starting with the 2026–2027 school year.

Part VIII — Consolidated Teacher Bonus Program and Revise CTE Bonuses

  • Amends statute to establish a consolidated teacher bonus program with AP/IB/AICE, CTE, and EVAAS-based growth bonuses.
  • Sets bonus amounts (e.g., $50–$100+ per student or per category, with caps) and distribution rules.
  • Establishes statewide and local growth bonuses totaling several million dollars, with restrictions on per-teacher caps and inter-year stacking.
  • Requires ongoing reporting by the Collaboratory on outcomes and bonus distributions.
  • Bonuses are not considered compensation for retirement purposes.

Who and what is affected

  • State agencies: Department of Commerce, Department of Public Instruction, UNC System Office, CCSO, IT Department.
  • Higher education: University of North Carolina System, Community Colleges System.
  • Public school units and districts, including partnered middle/high schools.
  • Private colleges and universities in North Carolina (through the common digital transcript initiative).
  • Teachers and school administrators (through new and revised bonus programs).
  • The NC Collaboratory (evaluation and reporting responsibilities).

Timeline and effective dates

  • Most provisions begin in the 2026–2027 fiscal year.
  • Key reports due: March 15, 2027 (transfer tech progress; credential data integration; transfer initiative progress), August 15, 2027 (pilot program reporting), and annual reports through 2030 (Collaboratory evaluations) with a final program report due August 15, 2033.
  • Part IX: General effective date July 1, 2026.

Overall, HB 1163 aims to strengthen workforce pipelines via apprenticeships, credentials alignment, improved credit transfer, enhanced career information platforms, targeted teacher bonuses, and a pilot to bolster career planning for middle school students.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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