Many Leon County businesses say they’d hire more local people if those prospective employees had the right skills. Now a new kind of workforce development program is getting underway to make more people ready for those jobs.
Last week (March 1), the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board set aside $100,000 to create a pilot workforce project. Plan architect Dustin Daniels with the Tallahassee Mayor’s Office said it’s a different approach to economic development.
“Just changing and reverse-engineering the value proposition where we’re saying we want to invest in workers, not just the companies themselves. Because when you invest in workers, when a business goes out of business or leaves our community, we still end up with a more viable and competitive workforce, so it really is a win-win.”
First step in the process, Daniels explained, is focusing the efforts of partners like Tallahassee Community College, Leon County Schools, the Chamber of Commerce and other resource organizations to help fill identified job talent gaps.
