WASHINGTON, N.C. – Sometimes in less-prosperous parts of North Carolina, people want more for themselves. But they’re not always sure about the path to a better future.

Routes to Jobs North Carolina is a new initiative of Higher Ed Works that attempts to connect those dots. Routes to Jobs focuses on the jobs most in demand in North Carolina’s less-fortunate counties – and the education someone needs to fill them.

Often, that involves a degree or credential from the local community college. But it also can involve pursuit of a four-year degree at one of our 16 public universities in North Carolina – or a combination of both.

Routes to Jobs has its own website, as well as profiles of each of the counties we highlight, in-demand job postings and video testimonials from local students, educators and community leaders.

We start with the four counties served by Beaufort County Community College – Beaufort, Tyrrell, Hyde and Washington:

Tyrrell County Manager David Clegg discusses the 21^st century skills required to benefit from the county’s burgeoning ecotourism industry:

Marshall Betts, an Early College high school student from Hyde County, travels 2 hours and 45 minutes each way to take college-level classes at BCCC. She outlines her plan to get an associate degree in science, then go to UNC-Chapel Hill and eventually become an emergency-room physician:

Nursing student Haley Whitener of Tyrrell County discusses the multiple ways Beaufort County Community College has helped her afford her training to become a nurse:

Penny Glover describes the family atmosphere at BCCC and how she juggled her duties as both mother and student to pursue a nursing degree and ultimately become an instructor:

Saria White of Tyrrell County describes her long but determined journey to earn her GED at age 32, then a four-year degree from Elizabeth City State University to become a teacher:

Ray Harris of Beaufort County discusses how he gave up a six-figure job to become a paramedic, as well as the large and growing demand for paramedics across the state:

Beaufort County Community College President David Loope lists Beaufort’s four aspirational goals, all of which revolve around social and economic mobility for students:

And Loope discusses both how affordable the community college is and how students can move quickly through a program to get a better job – or to pursue a four-year degree: