The initial convening in June<\/a> introduced the partnership \u2014 formally called the Tri-State Workforce Consortium \u2014 and shared a consultant\u2019s SWOT analysis of the region. The October convening built momentum, turning the mic to regional leaders to discuss how to formalize a governance structure that can sustain long-term collaboration and prepare the region for large-scale funding opportunities.<\/p>\n Attendees came to the table from state and local workforce boards, chambers of commerce, higher education institutions, startups and nonprofit partners, all united by one goal: mutually beneficial collaboration. Today, organizations volunteer their time and are using finite funding, so it\u2019s imperative to build an ongoing structure for workforce governance that stands alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why now is a critical moment to organize \u2014 and avoid silos\u00a0<\/p>\n Partnerships have historically been difficult to sustain when there is no shared funding opportunity to rally around. That is changing.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOrganizing as a region positions us to compete for major investments and turn collaboration into tangible results for employers and workers,\u201d said Joshua Berkow, interim CEO of the Tech Council of Delaware. \u201cThrough this partnership, we\u2019re building the infrastructure needed to attract funding, align employers, and strengthen the regional workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n As new federal grants, philanthropic funds and industry partnerships materialize, it\u2019s imperative that all three states coordinate as one region, not just a collection of local initiatives. Many convening attendees spoke about the missed connections that weaken the region\u2019s potential on the national stage. For example, the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce representative may not know what Philadelphia Works offers, or a university workforce center in Pennsylvania may not be aware of apprenticeship pathways emerging in Delaware.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pumphrey, of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber, spoke on the foundation needed for a firm infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt the very fundamental level, we need to build awareness and trust,\u201d she said. \u201cWhere is South Jersey thriving? What does Delaware have as an asset that doesn\u2019t exist in southern New Jersey or Southeastern Pennsylvania?\u201d<\/p>\n The Tri-State Workforce Consortium seeks to close those awareness gaps and align leaders on what\u2019s needed to build collaboration across state lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n Finding common ground and strategizing to engage employers<\/p>\n The group agreed on several challenges that need to be addressed to strengthen region-wide workforce development:<\/p>\n Limited corporate\/employer participation and direction<\/p>\n Lack of a governance structure to guide collective decision-making and action<\/p>\n Lack of a collective focus and shared strategic priorities<\/p>\n However, there was a notable absence of corporate representation in the room. Engaging employers meaningfully in regional partnerships isn\u2019t as simple as generating awareness, said James (Jim) Harris, sector workforce strategist at the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development. To an employer, he said, \u201cvast amounts of employer partners can be overwhelming.\u201d To ensure meaningful engagement in the future, Harris recommended aligning with a handful of corporate partners who would assign specific company representatives to attend these convenings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephanie Eldridge, CEO of Code Differently, pointed out many companies view workforce development as community engagement rather than a business investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an opportunity,\u201d Eldridge said, \u201cto work through organizations that directly draw in corporate organizations and employers, like Delaware Prosperity Partnership<\/a>.\u201d That way the consortium can position workforce engagement as part of business strategy, not volunteerism.<\/p>\n Learning from setbacks: lessons from the Tech Hub competition<\/p>\n No conversation about regional collaboration could skip the lessons from the Tech Hub funding competition<\/a>, where the tri-state region fell short of an award<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a huge gut punch to our region,\u201d admitted Tyrone Hampton, Jr., director, workforce partnerships at Philadelphia Works. \u201cAround the country they had all the sexy numbers,\u201d along with strong employer letters, a clear vision and deep engagement. Our region had letters of interest, not commitment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t get the funding because we didn\u2019t have the infrastructure in place. We didn\u2019t get the funding because we didn\u2019t have the employer partnerships in place like the big anchor institutions. Once we saw who was awarded across the country, we saw that they had some of the things that we did not,\u201d Hampton said.<\/p>\n The takeaway wasn\u2019t just about losing funding, leaders agreed. It was about realizing the region didn\u2019t yet have the connections, commitment and infrastructure to show we could manage it. That\u2019s what the Tri-State Consortium is working to fix.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ideal workforce governance model is a model that is in place that brings people together,\u201d Hampton said. \u201cIt fosters collaboration. It supports regional engagement, community engagement, inclusive decision making \u2014 all the things that help support a region having a oneness in terms of workforce efforts, and that engagement needed to impact communities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWhen you talk to most people, they have no idea about what a workforce governance model is. We emailed folks and they said, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I fit into the framework.\u2019 And we said, yes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n What comes next? From intention to consistency<\/p>\n The Tri-State Consortium invited leaders to the table, and now it\u2019s growing. Each convening strengthens the relationships, trust and shared direction needed to transform workforce efforts into a unified economic engine.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really an effort to bring together a multi-state collaborative,\u201d said Hampton, of Philadelphia Works.<\/p>\n That effort may very well draw inspiration from Delaware itself. \u201cDelaware may be small, but we\u2019ve proven we can punch above our weight when it comes to collaboration,\u201d said Berkow. \u201cBy aligning our strengths across states and sectors, we\u2019re showing what\u2019s possible when a region comes together with a shared purpose \u2014 creating a blueprint for how collaboration can power economic mobility and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n As federal agencies prepare to release new rounds of competitive funding, the groundwork being laid in 2025 could position the region as a national model for how collaboration drives readiness and resilience.<\/p>\n The Tech Council of Delaware and its partners intend to continue convening quarterly to formalize the governance model, solidify employer partnerships and ensure that when opportunity meets readiness, this region doesn\u2019t just participate \u2014 it leads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the beginning of October, more than 40 leaders from across three states gathered at the Pennovation Center…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[916,15427,69,71,70,12738,15428,175],"class_list":{"0":"post-23216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-delaware","9":"tag-ecosystem-building","10":"tag-philadelphia","11":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","12":"tag-philadelphia-news","13":"tag-sponsored-content","14":"tag-tech-jobs","15":"tag-workforce-development"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/483A1865-scaled.jpg\")
Making connections to strengthen the region. (ILLUSTRATIVE LENS PHOTOGRAPHY\/Tech Council of Delaware)<\/p>\n