A national publication read by corporate executives and senior-level learning officers recently highlighted the Lehigh Valley’s talent development programs as a case study to learn from.
Chief Learning Officer writes about how training and education impact corporate productivity. It is a resource for officers and executives directly involved in the development, implementation, and funding of training programs.
It published an article on Oct. 25 titled: “Case study: Lehigh Valley’s investment in talent pipeline attracts people, business.” 
“Lehigh Valley is setting its economy up for success,” begins the article, which includes interviews with Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC) President and CEO Don Cunningham and Vice President of Regional Partnerships and Talent Strategies Karianne Gelinas.
“Declining steel and textile manufacturing industries pushed the corporate leadership of the area to create a strategy for regional economic revitalization and a talent attraction strategy, beginning in the mid-1990s,” the article says. “Since then, LVEDC has recognized that aligning training and education of talent is integral to the economic strategy. So, the group brought more colleges, universities and trade schools into its board. Along with regional organizations and governments, LVEDC is developing an approach toward redevelopment and job creation.”
Chief Learning Officer explained how LVEDC has produced a series of Talent Studies to gauge employers’ workforce needs and how they align with existing educational offerings; holds an annual Internship Summit with partners in education and business to help employers create and improve internship programs; and publishes an annual Hot Careers Guide in collaboration with education and business partners to offer career path advice to students.
This year, LVEDC supplemented the Hot Careers Guide with a Hot Careers Dashboard, an interactive website that allows students and their families to explore jobs, industries, wages, educational programs, and career paths.
Cunningham told Chief Learning Officer that economic development is about people.
“If people at all socioeconomic levels have opportunity in the market, that’s the ultimate measure of success,” he said.
The article included an interview with Julien Sauvagnargues, President of Olympus Corporation of the Americas, based in Upper Saucon Township. He explained how Olympus partners with LVEDC, schools, and community organizations to build its workforce, including through internships.
“Companies succeed when they seek to harmonize the life and work of their employees and the people within their communities,” said Sauvagnargues, who is a member of the Board of Directors of LVEDC.
Chief Learning Officer is just the latest trade publication to publicize the Lehigh Valley economy.
Earlier this year, CPG Specialist, a publication of the Financial Times that explores trends in food and beverage production, published an op-ed about how the region has become a major center for producing beverages and food for both people and animals.
Industry Today, a leading manufacturing publication, held up the Lehigh Valley as an example of a region where the manufacturing workforce is growing despite national trends of a shortage of skilled workers.
Expansion Solutions Magazine, a trade publication that tracks economic development news and trends, picked up a story about the $35 million terminal and TSA checkpoint expansion at the Lehigh Valley International Airport.
About 20 trade publications and international media have published articles about the Lehigh Valley economy this year.