LVEDC Director of Talent Supply Karianne Gelinas

Each week, Karianne Gelinas, Director of Talent Supply with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), will provide an update or additional information from its ongoing initiative to identify talent supply and demand issues in the region and create a strategy that results in a broader, ongoing understanding of the Lehigh Valley workforce. (See past updates.)

The Lehigh Valley, like many other metropolitan areas, is facing an aging population. It is commonly known and often discussed that the “baby boomer” generation retiring from the workforce causes concern about worker shortages.

Looking towards the next 10 years, the Lehigh Valley has a potential incoming workforce of 80,673 people and an outgoing one of 90,665 people. Therefore, if all measures stay equal, the region could face a net deficit of nearly 10,000 workers.

Still, many things are yet-to-be seen over the next 10 years including migration, disruptive technology, automation, and geopolitical shifts, among others.

Maximizing the pertinent skills and experiences of our workforce and increasing the alignment of between our educational institutions’ preparation and employers’ demands increases our regional competitiveness in the future.

Click here to read more about LVEDC’s ongoing talent supply initiative. Click here to see previous talent supply initiative updates.