Efforts to grow the economy in Lancaster closely resemble the “regional innovation cluster” model currently being promoted at the federal level. However, a striking feature of what is being done in Lancaster is the strong focus on expanding manufacturing, which is leading the recovery in the region, rather than on spawning new high-tech industries. These efforts are being led by a broad-based coalition, LancasterProspers, which has developed a regional economic growth strategy with common goals and priorities to guide the many different organizations working in this arena, led by a steering committee that oversees the implementation of that strategy.

One of the key growth strategies focuses on developing a dashboard of regional indicators to help track economic growth and inform strategy and policy interventions. LancasterProspers has decided to use the Upjohn Institute’s dashboard, because of its direct application to Lancaster County.

Another growth strategy focuses on promoting and supporting innovation through Centers of Excellence in targeted industries. These Centers of Excellence build on the eight industry partnerships that have provided incumbent worker training to 400-500 area employers, using a sector-strategy approach. However, in addition to worker training, the Centers have a broader mission that includes conducting local research and development, organizing technology transfer activities, promoting entrepreneurial development, and maintaining a pipeline from school to work for essential careers in each industry.

In short, the Centers are intended to be intermediaries that broker a wide range of services that firms in that industry need to remain competitive, overcoming the fragmentation that currently exists among service providers. Each of the four Centers, formed by the Lancaster Workforce Investment Board, is led by a steering committee of private sector members from that industry, and supported by a project manager with deep industry knowledge.

Currently, manufacturing is leading the economic recovery in the region, and employers are complaining that they can’t find qualified workers. In response, the Manufacturing Center of Excellence is putting together a Manufacturing Skills Factory, which will provide a six-week program of training and work experience at an actual manufacturing facility in Lancaster.

In the workforce arena, the growth strategy envisions a workforce development system that is driven by the needs of local industries, as articulated through the industry partnerships and Centers of Excellence. Those needs inform career and research opportunities, as well as internships, for local and regional colleges. They also inform the content of education and training programs, the contour of career pathways, and the career decisions of students in the K-12 system and participants in publicly funded training programs.

There are efforts under way to put these pieces together more systemically. One such effort is a partnership between the Lancaster WIB and the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) to address high rates of poverty and unemployment among the growing Hispanic population, which now represents one-quarter of the total population in Lancaster. This partnership is using AWI funds to expand employment opportunities for the Hispanic population by helping them gain access to pre-employment training and skill training that leads to a credential along established career pathways and supported by existing industry partnerships. In short, the plan is to expand the pool of workers with basic skills that can feed into the more specific training programs driven by the needs of industries that are targeted by the growth strategy.

The partners have identified the lack of English language proficiency as major barrier to adequate employment and earnings and have organized a training program that integrates adult basic education and ESL instruction delivered by bilingual instructors. SACA has plans to construct a bilingual tech center in the Hispanic community to expand this program and to integrate it with skills training for high-demand occupations.

However, despite progress toward a more systemic approach to workforce development, the system is under a lot of stress from the unprecedented number of long-term unemployed. The region is responding with more short-term training for in-demand occupations, but they expect to be overwhelmed when the long-term unemployed exhaust their benefits, veterans return from military service, and stimulus funds run out.