Skilled People

The success of our area depends on our ability to prepare, attract, and retain Skilled People in our area. These skilled people will constitute a future workforce composed of well-trained or educated labor, capable of working in advanced manufacturing and knowledge intensive industries that include our traditional industries (such as furniture and apparel) working in non-traditional ways as well as in emerging new industries. In preparation, our residents and leaders alike will promote and value a strategy of life-long learning among our entire workforce, and make education and training a priority for all citizens in the participating counties. We recognize that to achieve a skilled workforce, we will need a wide variety of talents that may come from other places or social backgrounds – including and especially our growing Hispanic, Asian, and African American workforce. We embrace this social and cultural diversity because our collective future depends upon the individual success of all our residents.

Innovative Firms

Recognizing the impacts of the global marketplace and consequent competition, we will foster Innovative Firms capable of competing in world markets. Our traditional industries will adapt to the changing marketplace, investing in new technologies and work processes as well as finding new market niches in new product lines. Emerging new companies will germinate in the area and compete as effectively for business in Europe and Asia as they do in the domestic US marketplace. By encouraging our existing industries to take advantage of innovative technologies and best practices, we can create wealth that will benefit our entire community.

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