It’s no secret that workforce development is critical in a community’s economic development strategy. Site selectors consistently rank workforce availability and sustainability as top factors when evaluating regions for business relocation or expansion. 

Many communities have established strong workforce development programs, but the communities that demonstrate those programs and their reliable and sticky talent pipelines are the ones that will attract more businesses over time. 

Effectively marketing a workforce development program is an immense opportunity. Several practical approaches exist. 

Practical Ways to Market Your Workforce Development Programs

• • Tell your story with data and proof. Numbers matter. Highlight graduation rates, credential completions, and retention figures that show the talent pipeline is both steady and sustainable. Bring these data to life through a variety of content from both your employers and talent.

• • Build sector-specific narratives and put them to work often. Target industries want to see that workforce programs are tailored to their needs. If your region is targeting biotech, for example, market the training programs and partnerships that align directly with the sector. Frequency matters, too. Don’t spread efforts across several industries at once. Commit to a couple and demonstrate how you are developing and sustaining talent.

• • Show, don’t just tell. Video content, student and employer spotlights, and success stories are powerful tools. Bringing the human side of workforce development to life makes programs memorable. For example, a community might demonstrate its advanced manufacturing talent pipeline by following the journey of one apprentice through video. This humanizes the story while also promoting the work of a key employer.

• • Make workforce development visible everywhere. Workforce shouldn’t be a buried bullet point in an RFP. Talent programs must be a headline across your website, pitch decks, social channels, recruitment campaigns, and more.

• • Bring people into the experience. Invite site selectors, industry leaders, or media to tour training centers and meet students. Seeing a pipeline in action is more persuasive than just reading about it.

Marketing Workforce Through Education Partnerships

One of the strongest ways a community can market its workforce is by elevating the role of its educational institutions. Colleges and universities often serve as the most visible proof points that a talent pipeline is real, reliable, and scalable. By highlighting these partnerships, communities show that their workforce programs are rooted in established institutions that employers trust.

Communities effective at marketing these partnerships demonstrate how curricula are tailored to industry needs, how facilities like labs or training centers are producing hands-on talent, and how employers are directly involved in shaping programs. Similarly, highlighting co-branded initiatives—where a university and an economic development organization promote a talent pipeline together—signals unity and long-term commitment to workforce sustainability.

In this way, educational institutions become more than partners in workforce development; they become powerful marketing assets.

Communities Doing It Well

Some regions have turned their education partnerships into a centerpiece of business attraction.

Austin, Texas markets a full talent pipeline that connects K-12, higher education, and employers. Programs such as internships, apprenticeships, and industry-aligned curricula are promoted not only as training tools but as proof that the city continually supplies a wide range of talent. The region’s economic development organization, Opportunity Austin, has even welcomed new employers by connecting them with various education institutions to build workforce programs directly tailored to their talent needs.

In addition to traditional workforce strategies, Jacksonville, Florida has implemented a talent development and retention program called Earn Up. Through partnerships with various organizations including the public school system, the program focuses on audiences ranging from youth and college students to adult learners and even veterans. It’s an initiative that builds awareness of Northeast Florida’s key industries and career opportunities to those already in the region. It leverages a variety of marketing tools, including a testimonial video series and a career quiz, which helps audiences find a local key industry that fits their skills and interests.

Workforce development is more than a behind-the-scenes function of economic growth. It is a marketing anchor. Communities that market workforce development actively and bring their education institutions to the forefront will consistently rise to the top. By treating workforce as a core part of their brand, communities prove they are focused on meeting today’s talent demands and sustaining their future economies.