The Clements Group, a nationally-known community college consultant, conducted the research on the region's workforce development needs and performed a community needs assessment to evaluate the potential for a community college to serve northwest Pennsylvania.
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About the Initiative
What is it?
REthink Erie is an unprecedented collaboration among the business, government, economic development and philanthropic communities to aggressively address our region’s workforce development challenges and evaluate the opportunities associated with, and the viability of, creating a community college to serve northwestern Pennsylvania. The initiative's focus will be RElearning, REtooling, REworking and REeducating to meet the changing needs of people, business and industry in the region.
REthink Erie managed the six-month extensive research effort on our regional employers’ workforce needs, culminating in a public presentation of the results on April 3, 2009. The results were conclusive: An application for a community college is warranted. With direction from the project leadership team, REthink Erie is now coordinating the necessary community input and professional expertise to develop an application to establish a community college for submission to the Pennsylvania State Board of Education. The Project Charter describes the scope, stakeholders, risks, and major resources.
The workforce development research process we have instituted through REthink Erie can, and will, be replicated over time, so we can take the pulse of our regional employers’ workforce needs. Through REthink Erie, we will use what we learn not only to shape and continually inform a potential community college, but also to shape our region’s broader business retention, expansion, attraction and economic development efforts.