Finding the right talent and keeping its workforce’s skills up-to-date are essential to the success of any business. The Lehigh Valley is committed to understanding the needs of employers related to the attraction, development, and retention of talent and the challenges facing them in a rapidly changing economy.
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Talent Pipeline and Industry Sector Analysis and Strategic Action Plan Refresh for the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
Lehigh Valley Talent Newsletter
Local talent news, information, and national trends
Lehigh Valley Talent Strategies
Developing, attracting, and retaining talent is essential to regional economic success. The workforce must have skills and qualities aligned with employers’ needs. The Lehigh Valley Talent Strategies Initiative brings together employers, educators, and community partners led by LVEDC to conduct research, address challenges, and fortify the region’s talent market. This publication provides an overview of this initiative.
Education & Talent Supply Council
Economic development has experienced a paradigm shift. The LVEDC Education and Talent Supply Council is a partnership of regional educational institutions, major employers, and economic development and workforce agencies. The council is focused on creating and executing data-driven regional strategies that help the Lehigh Valley maintain a competitive workforce.
This regional talent initiative has won several awards and is widely recognized as a national best-practices model. Learn more here.
2022 Talent Study Report
LVEDC and Workforce Board Lehigh Valley commissioned Lehigh Valley, Pa.'s third comprehensive regional talent study to ensure a continued understanding of the evolving needs of Lehigh Valley employers and changes such as remote work and hybrid schedules that became more common starting in 2020. This third study built on previous research conducted in 2015 and 2018 exploring talent gaps and needs of the regional labor market.
The most recent study culminated in a strategic action plan, released in March 2022, that guides future efforts in fortifying the talent pipeline, which includes attracting, developing, and retaining the workforce that drives the regional economy.
Hot Careers Guide
The continued economic success of Lehigh Valley, Pa., depends on a workforce with the education and skills that employers value in a rapidly changing world. That’s why LVEDC, in collaboration with regional education and business partners, developed the Lehigh Valley Hot Careers Guide, to inform middle and high school students and the community about in-demand jobs they can pursue right here in the region. Download the guide here.
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Hot Careers Lehigh Valley Dashboard
The Hot Careers Lehigh Valley Dashboard is an interactive and expanded version of the Lehigh Valley Hot Careers Guide that helps students and job seekers explore career opportunities. The dashboard can be used to explore jobs, industries, wages, educational programs, and more to shape career paths. This tool would not be possible without the support of the education and business partners in the Lehigh Valley.
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Internship Summit and Resources Guide
Each year since 2019, LVEDC, in partnership with the 11 colleges and universities in the region, has hosted the Lehigh Valley Internship Summit.
The summit provides businesses important information about how to establish and expand successful internship programs, connect with local colleges and universities, and attract the interns that will become their talent of tomorrow. Download our Internship Resources Guide here.
Employability Skills
The Workforce Board Lehigh Valley has developed a curriculum for schools across the region to support students in learning and practicing employability skills. The Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School has developed its own professional skills certification, a process for validating students’ preparedness for the workforce.
Because employability skills have been identified as a critical need by employers, a coalition of educators is working to further support students in prioritizing and practicing employability skills employers are seeking.
Industrial Training and Education Consortium (iTEC)
The Industrial Training and Education Consortium of the Lehigh Valley, or iTEC, is a nonprofit corporation established by Lehigh Valley manufacturers to provide industrial skills training and talent development that meets the needs of the region’s growing manufacturing sector. iTEC supports companies by marketing industrial skills and occupations, providing a consistent flow of apprentice candidates, and reducing training costs by using established, successful apprenticeship programs. Read more about iTEC here.
Awards
Lehigh Valley’s talent initiatives have been recognized by leading economic development professional organizations with several prestigious awards.
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2024 Excellence in Economic Development
Silver Award
2023 Excellence in Economic Development
Silver Award
2021 Excellence in Economic Development
Gold Award
International Economic Development Council
2021 Economic Development Program of the Year
Pennsylvania Economic Development Association
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2024 Best Project Supporting Collaborative Community and Regional Initiatives
2022 Best Project Supporting Collaborative Community and Regional Initiatives
The Council for Community and Economic Research
Made Possible in Lehigh Valley
Attracting and retaining superior talent for the region’s employers is essential. For this reason, LVEDC spearheaded the creation of Made Possible in Lehigh Valley, a multi-organizational marketing initiative that highlights the diverse and unique assets that make Lehigh Valley, Pa., a desirable community where people want to visit, work, learn, and live.
