Some of the region's top business leaders Monday said education was more important than ever, due to an aging workforce, evolving technology and increasing global competition.

The executives, who gathered with Gov. Bev Perdue at Central Piedmont Community College's Harris Campus for a roundtable discussion, said good schools were essential to spur local hiring and attract employees and corporate headquarters from other parts of the country.

"They're hand in glove," said Perdue, who convened the group to hear business leaders' thoughts on the importance of education - and to build a case for preventing education-related budget cuts. "... We can't afford to be a failure at this."

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools faces continued budget pressure, with Superintendent Peter Gorman's plan projecting $100 million in cuts and the loss of about 600 teaching jobs. And Perdue has spoken out against proposed cuts to the UNC and community college systems.

She said Monday that education, along with incentives and quality of life, are top factors in a company's decision to bring jobs to North Carolina, and that company officials "need to know that we've got a pipeline of trained workers."

Earlier in the day, Perdue visited Huntersville's Saertex USA, a fabric manufacturer that announced plans in October to add nearly 180 workers over three years.

The panel discussion featured some of the biggest names in Charlotte's business landscape, from Belk Inc. chief executive Tim Belk to Charlotte Bobcats president Fred Whitfield, representing sectors from finance to construction to energy. Among their shared concerns: recruiting the best workers and keeping up with new technology and skill requirements.

"We want the best and the brightest," said Charles Bowman, Bank of America Corp.'s Charlotte and N.C. market president. "They've got to be able to compete in a global environment."

That's not just important for attracting local talent, he said. Any time bank executives recruit workers, those candidates ask about the local schools, Bowman said.

Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., said his industry has changed in recent years, with an increasing demand for engineers and other highly trained workers.

That's true in the energy sector, too, where "new technology is driving how we look at things," said Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy North Carolina. His company is looking for innovative workers to keep up with those changes - and to replace workers nearing retirement, he said.

One area of particular importance for Carter and other executives is science and math education, they said. The business leaders also said they preferred to hire local workers and needed local schools to stay on par with those in other states and countries.

"If we have a degradation in our public schools... we're not going to be able to carry out the workforce strategy that we have in place for our company," said Laura Schulte, Wells Fargo & Co.'s eastern region community banking president. That could also stunt the region's broader economic growth, she said.

"Any analysis by any company is going to start with the numbers, and they've got to be solid," she said.

N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco, who sat in the audience Monday, spoke up near the end of the event, saying he was concerned about the state's image if schools and universities suffer further from budget cuts.

"Our competition will jump all over that," he said.

Perdue called on business leaders to continue the conversation in their companies and community.

"You have to make some demands about what it is that's important to us as a people," she said.