College students from Germany recently learned how the Lehigh Valley has built a growing, diversified economy with a regional, partnership-based approach that leverages strong educational assets to develop the most important piece – skilled workers. 
The students are part of the Transatlantic Ruhr Fellowship program and from three campuses that are part of the University Alliance (UA) Ruhr: University of Duisburg-Essen, Ruhr University Bochum, and Technische Universität (TU) Dortmund.
They spent a week studying at Lehigh University, a long-time partner with UA Ruhr through Lehigh's Office of International Affairs, learning how to build skills in entrepreneurial mindsets, leadership, global markets, and other key subjects.
One of their stops was at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). On July 30, they met with several staff members and participated in a presentation and question-and-answer session with President and CEO Don Cunningham.
Cunningham shared how the Lehigh Valley’s population growth, driven by a desirable quality of life and record number of employment opportunities, is driving economic growth.
He said LVEDC works with employers to identify talent needs and then connects those employers with Lehigh Valley’s 11 colleges and universities and three career and technical schools to align curriculum with those needs.
Cunningham told the 11 students that people of their age are key to the Lehigh Valley’s future, as employers look for talent with in-demand skills.
Lehigh Valley is faring well in attracting that key demographic. The region’s population between the ages of 18 and 34 grew by nearly 9,000 from 2020 to 2024. Both Lehigh and Northampton counties rank in the Top 10% of all U.S. counties for growth of people within that age range, with Northampton second among all Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
Also participating in the visit to LVEDC were two members of a Lehigh Valley internship program for high school students.
The Future Entrepreneurs program is a partnership of Northampton Community College and Lehigh Carbon Community College. The participants learn life and academic skills, career development education, and entrepreneurship/business training. Students are partnered with local businesses/organizations for internships where mentors share real-world business experiences.
The Ruhr Fellowship students are studying careers in economics, business administration, industrial engineering, sales management, communications, business psychology, and education.
Following their week at Lehigh, the students went on to internships at employers in the Lehigh Valley, New York City, and Washington, D.C., including at Lafayette College.
The Lehigh Valley economy was strongly influenced by Germans, tracing to when the Moravians founded Bethlehem in 1741 and started producing goods in what is considered America’s first industrial park. The Moravian Church Settlements were named a UNESCO World Heritage site last year, one of only 26 sites in the U.S.
A new Lehigh Valley apprenticeship program, the Industrial Training and Education Consortium of the Lehigh Valley (iTEC), is based on the German apprenticeship model and the German American Chamber of Commerce plays a key role.
iTEC is a partnership of industry, education, government, and community organizations that promotes careers in advanced manufacturing and prepares people for those skilled jobs.