What are Workforce Partnerships?

The regional collaboratives provide funding to the workforce partnerships, whose on-the-ground projects work directly with job seekers and entry-level employees.

Each workforce partnership is different. Some are led by a local community college, others by an employer, a labor union, the local Workforce Investment Board, or by community-based organizations. Some partnerships prepare people for careers in health care, others in construction or manufacturing, and still others in sectors that are very specific to the region. Each workforce partnership matches the training and support needs of employees with the skills that employers need to be productive and competitive.

Every workforce partnership shares two core elements:

• All training programs are designed in close collaboration with employers; and
• The focus is not just on preparing jobseekers and entry-level employees for work, but for careers.

At their core, workforce partnerships need to be results-driven, entrepreneurial, and worthy of trust from both employers and workers. Workforce partnerships serve a wide range of jobseekers and employees but are especially attuned to the needs of lower-skilled, lower-wage workers and jobseekers.

Workforce partnerships exist throughout the country; click here to find one near you or in a sector that interests you.

The key functions of workforce partnerships include:

• Organizing multiple institutions, and public and private funds around common goals;
• Providing or brokering services – training and support – that help jobseekers and employees gain access to career pathways;
• Testing and implementing innovative approaches to the training, preparation, and career support for jobseekers and employees; and
• Sparking improvements in public systems and business employment practices.