Scott Ralls, President, Wake Technical Community College

Invest: spoke with Scott Ralls, president of Wake Technical Community College, about how the Triangle’s rapid growth is reshaping workforce needs, the college’s push into apprenticeships and simulation-based learning, and the support that keeps higher education both accessible and career-focused. “I often say Wake County runs on Wake Tech,” Ralls said.

Over the past year, what significant developments have emerged in the industry, and how have those shaped Wake Tech’s approach to workforce development?

The Raleigh-Durham area is clearly one of the fastest-growing in the country, and we’ve experienced another year of record growth. This fall, we started the semester with almost 3,000 more degree students than we did a year ago, so we are growing quite a bit at Wake Tech.

We’re investing for that growth in two directions: new capabilities and facilities at the college, and targeted investments to keep pace with an economy that continues to expand as a STEM, life science and healthcare economy. Our focus is on growing where the jobs and opportunities are growing.

In light of that growth, how is Wake Tech adapting to meet rising demand for talent across STEM and other specialized industries?

It’s really a combination of scaling and innovating. On the scaling side, we’re expanding where the population and employers are moving. One of the fastest-growing parts of Wake County is the eastern area, where we opened a new campus a little over a year ago and are growing quickly. We’re also designing a new campus in the fast-growing Apex area.

Programmatically, we’re scaling in skilled trades, life sciences, and healthcare — sometimes by launching new programs, and sometimes by significantly growing the capacity of existing ones.

I’m especially proud of the work we’ve done in apprenticeship. Wake Tech is one of the fastest-growing and most robust apprenticeship colleges in the United States. Today we have more than 175 employer partners across Wake County that have at least one apprenticeship with us. That model is now extending into life sciences, where we’ve established significant apprenticeship programs with biotech companies like Amgen, Fujifilm, CSL and Lilly.

Those efforts are reinforced by major investments in simulation-based facilities — advanced public safety and emergency medical labs, biopharma and advanced manufacturing centers, and a large new simulation hospital. Together, apprenticeship and simulation are changing the way we offer programs so they connect directly and visibly with high-demand careers.

You mentioned previously that technology changes have been “almost on steroids.” How do you stay ahead of technology trends?

Our goal is to understand where companies are going and align our programs with that trajectory. For example, today we’re meeting with a major industrial partner about advances in electrification. We learn a lot from those conversations and plan with them to hit their talent targets over the next five years.

That’s why all of our programs have industry advisory committees and why we are in regular dialogue with employer partners, listening closely to what they’re going to need from their workforce.

From the employer perspective, what are you hearing in terms of challenges or gaps in the labor pool?

Last year, I said that every industry was telling us they needed more people, and that’s still true. IT is being reshaped by AI, life sciences is booming, healthcare is booming because we’re both fast-growing and aging, but the constant theme is demand for talent.

For a jobs-focused college in one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, the challenge is deciding where to prioritize our investments. Broadly, we focus on three clusters of jobs. The first is the jobs that keep our community running — the high-skilled technicians. You know, the jobs that, as we say, keep our community running. You know, the technicians, I often say Wake County runs on Wake Tech.

The second cluster is the jobs that keep our community healthy and safe: public safety, law enforcement and healthcare. We’re the largest public safety education provider in North Carolina and the primary higher education provider for healthcare education in the state’s largest county.

The third cluster is the jobs that keep our community prosperous and growing. In recent years, that’s meant not just doubling down but tripling down on life sciences. We’ve made substantial investments in facilities, faculty and programs and have seen a four-fold increase in biotechnology students in four years.

Wake Tech is known as a technical, jobs-focused institution, but how are you preparing students for soft skills and leadership pathways in addition to technical roles?

A key dimension is our connection with university partners. We have transfer programs, particularly in STEM fields, and we collaborate with universities like NC State to align programs and create clear pathways to advanced degrees and research-based jobs.

We’re intentional about the role of AI across all of our programs. We talk a lot about “threaded AI” and have taken on the charge that all of our students need to become highly AI-competent. But we’re equally clear that AI must be a tool, not a crutch. That’s why a major emphasis at Wake Tech is embedding critical thinking and problem-solving skills across the curriculum, and helping students build the communication skills to explain the problems they tackle and the solutions they develop.

What strategies are you using to reach and retain students who face economic or geographic barriers to education?

We’ve made some significant organizational changes in how we support students. One of the most important is our care team structure. We now have 14 different care teams organized around employment sectors such as healthcare. Each brings together advisors, student success coaches, and career coaches who surround students in that area with coordinated support. Students spend their first six months in an “explore” mode; once they choose a direction, they’re wrapped by a care team that stays with them and helps them navigate both academic and career decisions.

We’ve also built out a care center model at each campus and virtually to address life challenges that can derail college progress — mental health stress, housing or food insecurity, and other financial pressures. Our care centers bring resources together to help students manage those challenges so they don’t have to stop out because of life circumstances.

Affordability remains a core pillar. Tuition at Wake Tech, as at other North Carolina community colleges, has not increased in more than a decade. We’ve also taken unique steps in terms of book pricing through our Eagle Advantage program, which offers a different pricing model that keeps book costs low. A student can take as many courses as they want and pay a maximum of about $3,800 for a year.

Those affordability measures are a big reason why Wake Tech is in the top 20% of colleges in the United States for return on investment 10 years after graduation. It’s the combination of low cost and high opportunity — quality career preparation in one of the hottest economies in the country.

What are the biggest opportunities for Wake Tech over the next three to five years, and what are your main priorities?

Our community keeps growing, but it’s growing in different places than it did a decade or two ago. One of the biggest opportunities for us is to grow with those emerging areas. Wake County isn’t just Raleigh and Cary; it’s also home to what you might call the new boomtowns — places like Wendell, Apex, Rolesville and Wake Forest.

One of the most exciting things for Wake Tech is the opportunity to “play in that sandbox” — to connect our students with companies at the leading edge. We’ve been intentional about recruiting faculty who come directly from these industries and bring that expertise into the classroom.

All of that makes it an especially exciting time to be the community college in the Triangle. We have the opportunity to help shape the workforce for one of the most dynamic regional economies in the country, and that’s a role we take seriously.