One key role of workforce development is to help businesses find the qualified workers they need. As a business, you will find local services including electronic job orders and job fairs, regular referrals of qualified candidates and skill training for your workforce.

The benefits of workforce development are two-pronged: on the one hand, the employees themselves stand to gain from retraining, and on the other hand, the employers also enjoy a higher-skilled team. Benefits of workforce development in the workplace include:

• Increased job satisfaction
• Lower turnover rate
• Increased operational efficiency
• Improved productivity
• Enhancements in innovative thinking
• Proactive, not reactive, problem solving

Many businesses work with St. Pete Works! to find diverse skilled candidates. Building the skills and competencies of local workers is essential to ensuring the competitiveness of business in the St. Pete economy. Local workforce programs recognize that training for individuals must align with the needs of business and industry. There are several ways that workforce development initiatives supports this need for training.

St. Pete Works! A Workforce collaboration of community organizations working together to increase employment in the Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). ST. PETE WORKS! is funded by the City of St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area and led by St. Petersburg College.

St. Pete Works leads the way in connecting job seekers and employers, providing skills training and work opportunities for youth and adults. The ultimate goal of St. Pete Works is to help more community workers train for and secure new and higher paying jobs.

In this webinar, learn how to work with local workforce development initiatives.