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 set out to use its convening power to address this gap. It began by connecting 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 gain a greater understanding of employer awareness and utilization of PA Careerlink services. The first survey would set the baseline, and the chamber would issue a mid-point and end-point surveys to track increased awareness and utilization of the services over time.

The success of this initiative is driving the chamber to double down on its efforts 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 is also participating 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.”