Two initiatives focused on youth engagement and how education relates to career opportunities are hosting events today on the campus of North Carolina State University.

The Wake County Public School System hosts “Great Xplorations” today at the McKimmon Center at NC State University, a career fair for more than 800 ninth graders in public schools across Wake County. The program is described on the Wake County Public School System’s website as an event where High School freshmen investigate careers alongside business and industry representatives.

“Great Xplorations is a career development event that provides students the opportunity to learn about a variety of careers, observe and engage in career discussions and gain valuable information about careers,” reads material on the Wake County Public School System website. The program has been running for multiple years.

The Institute for Emerging Issues at NC State University hosts the #YouthEngageNC Summit today in three concurrent locations across the state (Raleigh, Greenville, and Asheville) in order to identify solutions for increasing youth engagement in civic projects through school or outside of school. The Institute also announced the subject of their 31st Emerging Issues Forum yesterday with the topic of “Future Work.” The #YouthEngageNC effort will likely tie together civic engagement, volunteering, education, and workforce issues.

“Why should we push to improve youth engagement?” asks marketing material for the #YouthEngageNC Summit. “Because extensive research demonstrates that youth who are connected to their schools and communities enjoy greater success when furthering their education and when entering the workforce. Those are exactly the outcomes we want for youth — and for our communities and state.”

The Institute for Emerging Issues 2015 North Carolina Civic Health Index showed that North Carolina is average in the level of civic engagement activity among its citizens. This is a major concern for the Institute, as their research also shows correlations between civic engagement and healthy economies, vibrant communities, and successful youth who have an easier time graduating and joining the work force.

The FutureWork forum will tie in this theme as the Institute for Emerging Issues hosts the 31st annual event in February 2016. The central question the forum aims to address is: as technology and demography shift, how can North Carolina prepare today to create enough good jobs for tomorrow?

North Carolina needs a new conversation about future job creation, claims the Institute for Emerging Issues. At last year’s Forum, participants forged a plan to strengthen innovation capacity, which resulted in the creation of the InnovateNC project spearheaded by IEI. According to organizers, at the event in February, participants will identify new models and strategies to position North Carolina as a leader in the global battle for good jobs for tomorrow’s diverse workforce.