ENHANCING WORKFORCE CAPACITY
A program of the GBA, Talent Partnership focuses on attracting, developing, and retaining Gaston County residents to strengthen the local economy and provide economic mobility opportunities by way of education, developing and producing careered industry opportunities in the region.
Leveraging the U.S. Chamber's Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) program, along with key education & workforce partners, GBA's Talent Partnership closes the people & skills gap. Closing this gap is critical for Gaston County's success.
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With the launch of the Talent Partnership, Gaston County's leaders can influence the way students learn about and ultimately decide to pursue high-paying career opportunities in their backyards.
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The Gaston Business Association places a strong emphasis on harnessing local talent in Gaston County to drive economic growth and provide opportunities for economic mobility. GBA's strategic objectives involve addressing critical workforce needs in identified sectors, generating data-driven policy outcomes, and ensuring that the policy agenda and process are responsive to the demands of businesses.
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To achieve these objectives, the GBA undertakes strategic initiatives such as completing the Talent Partnership prototype model in the manufacturing sector, implementing comprehensive marketing and business development strategies, formalizing relationships with community partners and educators, and fostering collaboration with new sector collaboratives.
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By prioritizing local talent and fostering strong partnerships, the GBA aims to strengthen the workforce and contribute to the economic prosperity of Gaston County.
Industry Focus
The Partnership is investing in strategic alliances and talent development to diversify Gaston's traditional industries and scale businesses.
Smart Manufacturing
Trades & Construction
Commercial Driver's License
Technology
(in development)
Is your business a good fit?
My business is a good fit if I ...
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need to produce a skilled workforce in two years or less
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need to produce a skilled workforce, but require additional training and development with longer lead times
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need to build upskill pathways for front-line, existing workers
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need a structured process for setting and reaching diversity, equity, and inclusion goals for my workforce
My business is NOT a good fit if I ...
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need available talent today that does not require any additional education, training, or credentialing before or after initial hiring
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want to improve enhance only one aspect or part of how I partner with educators
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want to better understand labor market trends or leverage data for strategic planning, but not for action
Our Public-Private Model
The Talent Partnership of Gaston County builds and manages talent pipelines for critical industry needs in Gaston County, NC.
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The Talent Partnership's mission is two-fold:
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Increase the quality and quantity of critical talent for Gaston County's industries by partnering with key education & workforce entities
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Directly connect that talent to Gaston County's employers-of-choice
To achieve this objective at scale, Talent Partnership has worked with private sector, public sector, education, and grantmaking partners to create an innovative model crafted to better align education systems around producing in-demand talent outcomes. Businesses outline the job demands and experience requirements that drive the operational workflow for our team.
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We are educators' boots-on-the-ground support. In strong partnership with schools, we deploy industry-focused resources to access, recruit, prepare, and place talent from education networks with local employers.
Employers form Industry Partnership
Talent Partnership determines the shared need and then works with educators to align & build talent pipelines and training preferences
Our Team representatives access, recruit, prepare, and place talent from education networks with employers of choice that are connected with Talent Partnership.
Talent outcomes are fast-tracked for Industry Partnership.
Laser Focused on Your Industry
With a boots-on-the-ground presence in schools, Talent Partnership staff work for you & your industry.
Talent Partnership Model
We proactively:
- Market your business & industry to target populations
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Recruit learners into industry-specific education programs
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Deliver best-in-class hard & soft skills training
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Connect learners directly with partnering employers for internships and apprenticeships
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Remove barriers that impede student success
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Serve as school's boots-on-the-ground partners to improve program enrollment, retention and completion rates
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Place program graduates into direct hire positions for partnering employers
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Track graduate success & experiences with firms
Benefits
PRIORITY ACCESS PROVIDED TO PARTICIPATING EMPLOYERS
People, operations, and firm leaders are granted priority access to talent for hiring events, career awareness activities, co-teaching opportunities, plant tours, and more.
The Process
Discovery
We work with your operational and people leaders to determine if we're good fits for each other. If we are, the discovery process culminates in a thorough outline of objectives and baseline measures that allow our team to create specific talent-focused goals.
Join your industry collaborative
To propose and implement talent solutions at scale, Talent Partnership needs to be able to communicate industry needs with educators. Joining your peers at the table enables us to truly act on your behalf.
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Agreeing on critical job focuses
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Projecting critical job demand
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Aligning talent pipelines & education programs around job requirements
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Analyzing current talent supply and education network capacity to service demand
Get Onboarded with Educators & Partnership Staff
We go into full concierge mode to position your firm for seamless engagement with students & educators.
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Onboarding Includes:
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Opening up internship and apprenticeship pathways in your firm
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Granting Talent Partnership team access to HR staff & data directly related to joint goal-setting
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Collecting info for employer branding & marketing within company guidelines
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Plugging your firm directly into talent pipelines and/or creating new pipelines
Benefit
After onboarding, the engagement engine is set into motion. With the innovative Talent Partnership model, your firm benefits uniquely by:
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Tapping into a pool of new talent
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Growing and recruiting new talent that would otherwise not be present
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Gaining priority access to talent in education networks
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Streamlining your workforce & education partnerships
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Busting silos between educators, workforce partners, and industry
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Setting up channels of sustainable and long-term talent solutions
