PEOP LE & P LACES
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Regional Economic Development Forum The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro hosted a virtual Regional Economic Development Forum as part of its 2021 Critical Issues Series on April 22. Nearly 120 listeners tuned in to the 1 ½-hour Zoom meeting to hear from influential leaders across Orange, Durham and Wake counties. Each of the speakers shared hallmarks of their county, points of progress and key drivers for success as well as reflections on the interconnectedness of the Research Triangle region and areas of opportunity going forward. Some of the key takeaways included: • Health care is the top industry employer in the core of the region, with nearly 120,000 employees. Right now there are 65,000 job openings across all industries, and the three employers recruiting the most workers in health care are: WakeMed (1,200-plus), UNC Health (1,000) and Duke Health (900). • Research Triangle Park had $3.5 billion in new investments and 2,000 jobs created in 2020. The Research Triangle Foundation is modernizing RTP with Frontier, Boxyard and Hub RTP. • Software/IT and biomedical/life science clusters – think Google, Apple and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies – are driving the region’s economic development growth. CHM
1 Morris Commercial President & Broker In Charge John Morris. 2 Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro President & CEO Aaron Nelson. 3 Orange County Commissioner Earl McKee. 4 Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro Vice President for External Affairs Katie Loovis.
COLLEGE IS NOW AFFORDABLE. The Durham Tech Promise and our other college scholarships help keep your mind off the financials and on the future.
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durhamtech.edu/promise
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chapelhillmagazine.com July/August 2021