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 and additional information about 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.)

In a testament to the importance of the issue, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation made the skills gap and how to train the 21st century workforce the cover story of the Fall 2017 edition of the American Working Forward magazine.

In an attempt to understand the talent gap and share best practices to mitigate it, the special report highlights four successful models by employers who seek to close the gap.

“Good jobs are going unfilled because of the lack of trained candidates,” the magazine notes. “Here’s how companies are taking matters into their own hands.

The four companies and their areas of focus include:

• Seimens USA – Apprenticeships
• Walmart – Upskilling
• Wegmans – New Opportunities
• JPMorgan Chase – Career Readiness

To read about these test models, visit the digital version of the magazine here.

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