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Workforce development is an economic development approach that enhances a region's economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than businesses. It is essentially a human resources strategy. Workforce development has historically been found in two forms: place-based strategies that attempt to address the needs of people living in a particular neighborhood, or sector-based strategies that focus on matching workers' skills to needs in an industry already present in the region, such as healthcare or manufacturing. Some contemporary workforce development programs attempt to combine elements of both approaches, linking employment training with other government programs and community resources to provide wraparound services.

History
The responsibility for workforce development in the United States has rested on the government's shoulders for at least a century, since the advent of public schools. This formal system of education replaced earlier days in American history when students whose parents desired them to learn a trade other than their parents' were apprenticed. Informal schooling took place at home, depending on the household's ability and income level. Public schools were created to prepare students to earn a living wage by providing them with skills such as reading and arithmetic. However, an employer still typically provided vocational training on the job.

Traditional workforce development has been problem-focused. Economic development practitioners evaluated neighborhoods, cities, or states on the basis of perceived weaknesses in human resource capacity. However, recent efforts view workforce development in a more positive light. Economic developers use workforce development as a way to increase equity among inhabitants of a region. Inner city residents may not have access to equal education opportunities, and workforce development programs can increase their skill level so they can compete with suburbanites for high-paying jobs.

Workforce development has also expanded beyond the notion of employment or vocational training. Workforce development today often takes a more holistic approach, addressing issues such as spatial mismatch or poor transportation to jobs. Programs to train workers are often part of a network of other human service or community opportunities.

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) demonstrated growing importance of the workforce development concept in the political arena. The act created Workforce Investment Boards which brought workforce development to the forefront in states and localities across the United States while highlighting the importance of the community's involvement in developing workers' skills. The role of industry clusters is also considered. The WIA ...

Recent attention has been focused on workforce development for two reasons. First, in the 1990s, the federal government under

Approaches to Workforce Development
Two approaches to workforce development have emerged. However, contemporary strategies often use a mixed approach.

Place-based Approaches
Place-based approaches are primarily focused on the characteristics of people in the region where the program will be located. This approach considers the supply side of the workplace, the laborers. People are trained in general skills and matched with jobs.

Workers may lack specific skills, for example inner city areas with large immigrant populations may have a high need for programs teaching basic English reading and writing. Place-based strategies often help participants gain initial access to the job market and may also address other concerns specific to the region, notably, housing.

Sector-based Approaches
Sector-based approaches consider the sectors, or industries, in a region that are in need of specific workplace skills. They focus on the demand side of workplace and consider the industries in which it is most likely that new employees will be hired. Sector-based programs may have higher entrance requirements than place-based strategies because their ultimate aim is to aid the sector at which they are targeted, not to increase the general hirability of the most disadvantaged residents.

Combined Approaches
Some approaches now combine a focus on place with an evaluation of sectors that face a workforce or skill shortage.