Bridging the Gap: Increasing Awareness of Training and Employment Resources

The Lebanon Valley Chamber set out to create a one-stop navigator program to help young adults gain access to skills training and job opportunities. As leaders rolled up their sleeves to get to work, they realized that the state of Pennsylvania has a one-stop navigator program funded by the state.

Programs like this can be underutilized when they are not widely known by key stakeholders like educators, employers and local organizations. This lack of awareness can create a gap between young job seekers and local opportunities to gain training and employment resources.

The chamber shifted its strategy to focus on raising awareness and building connectivity for 18 to 24 year olds. "There was an opportunity for collective action to be utilized in this area, and it hadn't been done in the past," said Diane Harlow, the chamber's director of workforce and education.

The chamber used its convening power to address this gap, beginning with the county's youth advisory board. Harlow wanted to gain a greater understanding of what young job seekers knew about the resources available to them and identify opportunities for the chamber to help raise awareness.

She knew it would take a coordinated effort to raise the community's awareness of the valuable programs that offer pathways to employment for young residents. She also knew that the chamber of commerce isn't where young people turn for advice, so she set out to identify existing community partners who play more active roles in guiding young adults. 

"I contacted every organization that touches the lives of youth between the ages of 18-24 to understand their interactions and how we could help raise awareness," Harlow said. "I held one-on-one meetings with every single organization. I went to them in person. I learned what they did and how they interact with our youth."

The chamber also worked with the one-stop, PA Careerlink, to track how many young people were taking advantage of its services. They also added a referral field to the intake form so they could determine which community partners were having the most success connecting local youth to the services.

Harlow said the chamber also created a survey to establish a baseline understanding of awareness and utilization of PA Careerlink services, creating a foundation for measuring progress over time.

Building on the momentum created through this initiative, the chamber led a comprehensive community asset mapping effort, working with partners to catalog resources available to workers, job seekers and young adults throughout the region. That effort resulted in the creation of a community asset page that partner organizations actively promote and use to connect residents with services. The resource continues to evolve as new programs and supports are identified. 

Importantly, chamber leaders found that the process of mapping community assets was just as valuable as the final resource itself. The effort surfaced organizations and services that many partners were not fully aware of, strengthened relationships across the ecosystem and reinforced the chamber’s role as a trusted convener. Similar to other communities engaged in this work, the chamber found that bringing partners together around a shared understanding of available resources generated meaningful buy-in and strengthened collaboration.

The asset mapping process also helped partners clarify where the chamber could add the greatest value. While the chamber continues to advocate for issues such as childcare access and workforce housing, it has become increasingly intentional about supporting and amplifying the work of trusted organizations already leading in those areas. This has allowed the chamber to focus its energy on workforce-related priorities where it can have the greatest impact, including skills training, upskilling opportunities and connections to employers offering family-sustaining wages. 

The success of this initiative has reinforced the chamber's growing role to improve workforce outcomes and economic opportunities throughout the community. It is participating in the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Reinventing Our Communities cohort program to develop a multi-year plan to expand economic opportunities for local workers and communities of color. Harlow was also a participant in the U.S. Chamber’s Business Leads fellowship.  

“The Chamber has always been known for being passionate in taking care of its businesses,” she said. “But the workforce piece wasn't as strongly formulated, and we find now that our businesses and our community are looking to us more and more for our workforce work.”

As the chamber continues to build partnerships, strengthen workforce pathways and connect residents to opportunity, leaders view this work as an ongoing process. What began as an effort to raise awareness of existing resources has evolved into a broader strategy focused on collaboratively creating stronger pathways to economic mobility throughout the Lebanon Valley.