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.)

Last week, we referenced a recent report by the U.S. Federal Reserve System that recommends some of the exact efforts currently underway in our study, which validates and underscores the importance of our ongoing talent supply initiative.

Among the main goals of that study – which is called “Investing in America’s Workforce: Report on Workforce Development Needs and Opportunities” – is to re-envision workforce solutions as investments in the national economy, not as social services.

The study specifically urges employers to classify workers as assets, not expenses. It reads: “Reclassifying employees as assets to be invested in, as opposed to a line item labor cost to be reduced, offers a shift in perspective that may encourage employers to improve job quality and make direct investments in skills training and professional development.”

There are multiple ways to develop an organization’s labor assets, and one promising model is through registered apprenticeships. Organizations that develop their employees may find improved morale, stronger retention, and higher productivity.

Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting best practices, various models, potential collaborations, and funding opportunities for registered apprenticeships.

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