WHY WE EXIST

The Talent Partnership drives ROI-focused alliances between education & industry.

DIRECTLY ALIGNING CLASSROOMS TO CAREERS

The people and skills gap grows larger. Amid this dynamic, learners deserve better employment outcomes, employers continue to struggle finding qualified talent, and educators remain overburdened & under-resourced. As much as workforce stakeholders are rowing in the same direction, barriers to effective coordination hamper ROI-focused partnerships among education & industry.

To address these challenges directly, The Talent Partnership was formed. The Talent Partnership of Gaston County builds and manages talent pipelines for critical industry needs in Gaston County, NC. Empowered to seamlessly navigate education networks and industry partners, the Talent Partnership provides speedy and priority access to learners, educators, employers-of-choice, and critical data.

The Talent Partnership's mission is two-fold:

Increase the quality and quantity of critical talent for Gaston County's industries by partnering with key education & workforce entities
Directly connect that talent to Gaston County's employers-of-choice

To achieve this objective at scale, the 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.

We are educator's boots-on-the-ground support to provide a laser-focus to industry needs. In strong partnership with schools, we deploy industry-focused resources to access, recruit, prepare, and place talent from education networks with local employers.

HOW WE’RE DIFFERENT

Employers drive the results & own the talent pipelines

Education programs are more responsive to evolving workforce needs.

We bust silos with our unique approach

We provide value to learners, employers, and educators.

We grow new talent

Our objective is to grow the talent pool, not just shuffle individuals around to various employers.

We provide priority access

We provide learners first access to employers-of-choice and partnering employers first access to talent.

We streamline workforce & education partnerships

Working with the Partnership enables you with concierge-level support in navigating opportunities in Gaston County. A one-stop-shop, the Partnership plugs you into the full spectrum of education & workforce providers and programs out there.

TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE BENEFITS

Value-adds for three major stakeholders

Priority access to talent is provided
Employers only pay for outcomes
Workforce & education partnerships are streamlined
Firms make informed hiring decisions
Upskill current workforce

OUR APPROACH

We employ a social entrepreneurial mindset. To reach true scale and impact, creative risk-taking and a long-term view is critical.

Employers are in the driver's seat. Employers have often been the missing piece of the workforce development ecosystem. Throughout all Partnership efforts, employers lead.

We get down to the bottom of core issues impacting talent pipeline performance. Our alliances with educators reinforce transparency & accountability so root causes are identified and tackled head on.

Data is front & center in all decision-making. Often, data vacuums exist between educators and employers. We close gaps in data to ensure we're tracking results.

Our History

A program of the Gaston Business Association (GBA), the Talent Partnership of Gaston County has served as a valuable catalyst that is accelerating the region's workforce development system alignment around producing in-demand talent.

In early 2022, the Gaston Business Association and key education & workforce partners began leveraging the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) program to close the people & skills gap. TPM® is a demand-driven, employer-led approach to closing the skills gap that builds talent supply chains aligned to dynamic business needs.

First deploying TPM® in Gaston County's manufacturing arena, business & education leadership found a well-positioned organization was required to drive systems change & measurable talent outcomes for learners, employers, and educators. In response to this need, the Talent Partnership was born. It is intended that the Talent Partnership scales this important work into additional industries that are critical for the region's success.

The Talent Partnership's intensely focused & collaborative work has been championed across the state and country as innovative. With the launch of the Talent Partnership, Gaston County's leaders intend to revolutionize the way students learn about and ultimately decide to pursue high-paying career opportunities in their backyards.

Coalition Partners