A new magazine developed and released by the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) serves as a showcase for the regional economy, this time with a focus on the superior talent pool the Lehigh Valley offers to incoming and existing companies.

The third issue of the popular Lehigh Valley Economic Development magazine was released this month, with a cover story on the region’s coordinated workforce training efforts, which includes LVEDC’s collaboration between higher education institutions and regional employers.

“These magazines are always one of our most popular marketing items at events, trade shows, and conferences,” said Don Cunningham, LVEDC President and CEO. “This new issue focuses particular attention on the talent pool available for new and existing companies in the Lehigh Valley, as well as the quality of life assets that shows why people want to be working here in the first place.

The 44-page magazine is part of a collaboration dating back to 2014 between LVEDC and Journal Communications, a nationally-recognized company that produces dozens of similar products for states, regions, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations.

The magazines have been an important marketing tool to attract businesses and site selectors to the Lehigh Valley, highlights the region’s competitive advantages for targeted sectors and providing an overview of the region’s business climate, livability, education, energy, health-care, and transportation.

“This ties directly into our mission to tell our economic story and increase awareness throughout the United States and abroad of the economic advantages of the Lehigh Valley,” said Michael Keller, LVEDC Director of Marketing.

Content from the magazine can be found online here,

The cover story highlights the LVEDC Workforce and Talent Supply Council, an unprecedented partnership between regional schools and employers working to identify workforce needs and ensure the pipeline of talent flows to jobs in targeted industry sectors and high-priority occupations.

“We work every day with our economic development partners to ensure we are retooling and retraining Lehigh Valley’s workforce to meet the changing skill requirements of employers,” Nancy Dischinat, Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board (LVWDB), said in the story.

Another article discusses the Lehigh Valley’s well-developed transportation infrastructure, which has made the region the center of an e-commerce explosion attracting major distribution operations from the likes of Amazon, Walmart, and zulily.

The magazine also features stories about the four targeted sectors of the Lehigh Valley, as defined in an LVEDC-commissioned report by the Atlanta-based firm Garner Economics: high performance manufacturing, high value business services, life science research and manufacturing, and food and beverage processing.

“We have found that there is a strong talent base in the Lehigh Valley market that is well suited for the technical and service skills we need to serve our clients,” John Gibson, Senior Vice President of Service for Paychex, said in one of the stories. Paychex invested $1.3 million to double the size of its South Whitehall Township facility, creating 100 new jobs.

The magazine is available for use by any business, organization, or government official in the Lehigh Valley involved in recruiting people or companies to the region. It targets a defined audience of potential residents, new businesses, and visitors.

Copies are available upon request or at the LVEDC office at 2158 Avenue C, Suite 200, Bethlehem, PA 18017. For more information or to request copies, contact LVEDC at 610-266-6775.