In our increasingly knowledge-based economy, workforce skills have arguably become the most critical ingredient in determining the competitiveness of a region or cluster. For low-income individuals, enhanced career skills and/or academic credentials can open the path to earning a self-sustaining income.

We view workforce development as more than an agglomeration of programs. Successful workforce development requires a continuum of services that build the skills demanded in the marketplace, connect workers with employers, encourage career advancement, and provide the supportive infrastructure for work/family balance. This approach requires a combination of program development, organizational capacity building, and increased coordination among service providers to create a more integrated workforce development system.

Mt. Auburn’s services draw upon our broad expertise in workforce development. We evaluate workforce development initiatives, assist clients on strategic plans for regional Workforce Investment Boards, develop sector-specific workforce development strategies, advise union-based programs, write policy papers, and integrate workforce recommendations into all our strategic planning projects.

Our rich experience in workforce development evaluation allows us to stay on the cutting edge of practice in this area and to maintain a realistic understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by training programs in the field. We employ these lessons in our workforce-related policy and strategic planning work.