Workforce Development - Skills

Skills Needs Assessments

Skill Development is the key for economic growth at the community level, success at the employer level and career achievement at the personal level. Education and Training Needs Assessments are of growing importance as employers, workers and students struggle to meet the changing and growing demand of job skills. By surveying employers, workers and high school students, community, vocational and technical schools and colleges can better plan and provide the skills required in the workplace and make the community more competitive for jobs and growth and employers more competitive in the marketplace.

Growth Services provides this service at the community college level. Without this training and education focus, mismatches will occur in the skills available and skills required by employers in the workplace. The trained worker without jobs will move to other Area Labor Markets and local employers will spend more of their financial resources to train internally making them less competitive. Area Development Magazine has rated Availability of Skilled Labor as one of the top three factors for site selection for the last five years during their annual surveys.