Workforce Development Leadership Course II:
Chambers Leading Through Partnerships

This unique course brought together, for the first time, chamber executives – or chamber workforce development staff – and local one-stop career center directors from the same communities to build effective partnerships between the two.

Building on ICW's initial leadership course which was designed to strengthen and build chambers' capacities as workforce development leaders, this interactive two-and-a-half-day course helped chambers and one-stop centers connect small- and medium-sized businesses with the resources needed to hire, retain, and advance qualified entry-level workers.

Across the country, we see examples of chambers and one-stop career center systems collaborating to help employers take advantage of workforce development resources already available at no or low direct cost. This course facilitated this collaboration also leading to the support of workers attempting to access jobs with growth potential. Participants left with a joint action plan to help them put in place what they have learned.

Goals/Objectives:

• Demonstrate how chambers of commerce can serve as an important resource connecting small and medium-sized employers to one-stop career systems to enhance communities' economic development efforts;
  
  
• Build the capacity of chambers and one-stop career centers to create a win-win workforce strategy for both businesses and low-skilled and low-wage workers; and
  
  
• Create a greater understanding and use by business of the resources and retention strategies available to employers to support entry-level, including welfare to work employees.