The Whetstone Group
Building The Bigger Vision
LEAD Linking Economic and Academic Development (LEAD) thru Workforce Innovations© A highly skilled and trained workforce is essential for businesses to compete or remain competitive in today’s ever-changing economy. In many cases, the demand for this workforce far exceeds the availability. For a community, the single most important issue for attracting new businesses that can create a healthy and diverse economy is a sustainable talent pipeline. As a result, the Whetstone Group has set in motion an innovative solution with the introduction of a powerful and proven model of community workforce planning called Linking Economic and Academic Development (LEAD) thru Workforce Innovations© . LEAD is a unique concept designed to create a partnership between the business and education communities in order to attract, expand, and retain targeted, high-value industry and sustain a strong, knowledge-based economy. The LEAD model provides a much needed pipeline of talent for industries critical to an individual community’s economic growth. LEAD includes a continuum of services: » Community Consortiums - facilitating the strategic alliance of the community's key stakeholders. » Needs Assessment - providing third party objective and statistically sound talent forecasting and skilled workforce needs assessment. » Career Technical Academies - creating rigorous, releveant and financially sustainable Secondary Education Career Technical Academies directed at producing the high demand, high wage skilled workforce pipeline identified by the community's Needs Assessment. |