The challenge of education in North Carolina Cities like Charlotte will probably continue to attract highly educated and skilled workers from other areas of the country, but improving the skills of local workers – especially those displaced by industries in decline – remains critical for both urban and rural areas in the state.
Four-year institutions play an important role in meeting that challenge, but they are not  4  BIS Review 141/2007  the sole means for developing workforce skills. For example, in the 2004-05 school year, the North Carolina Community College System served nearly 780,000 students in fifty-eight institutions.