Building Acadiana’s Workforce Through HR Leadership and Local Partnership

When I first became involved with Local Workforce Development Board Area 40 in Acadiana, I expected to learn more about workforce programs. What I did not expect was how much it would broaden my perspective on workforce challenges and solutions.

As HR professionals, we spend much of our careers focused on attracting, developing, and retaining talent within our organizations. Serving as board chair has given me the opportunity to look beyond the workforce needs of a single employer and better understand the workforce needs of an entire region. In Acadiana, our conversations often include manufacturers looking for skilled talent, healthcare organizations facing workforce shortages, educators preparing students for careers, workforce professionals connecting individuals to opportunities, and community partners working to remove barriers to employment.

While their perspectives may differ, their goals are remarkably similar: helping people succeed and helping businesses grow. One of the most important lessons I have learned is that workforce development is not an education issue, a business issue, or a government issue. It is a community issue.

The strongest workforce solutions happen when employers, educators, workforce leaders, and community organizations work together rather than independently.

Local workforce development boards help make those connections possible. They bring together the voices needed to align training programs, career services, work-based learning opportunities, and workforce investments with real labor market needs. They also provide employers with an opportunity to move beyond being consumers of talent and become active partners in developing it.

As HR professionals, we have an important role to play in those conversations. We understand workforce trends, talent gaps, hiring challenges, and employee development. We hear firsthand what employers need and what workers are experiencing. That perspective helps ensure workforce strategies remain connected to workplace realities.

This is also why SHRM's Education-to-Employment initiative is so important. Preparing individuals for successful careers requires stronger connections between education and employment, along with meaningful employer engagement throughout the process.

My encouragement to fellow SHRM members is simple: get involved. Join a workforce board. Serve on an advisory council. Partner with a school, community college, apprenticeship program, or workforce initiative. Your expertise can help shape opportunities far beyond your own organization.

We often talk about developing talent within our organizations. Workforce development gives us the opportunity to help develop talent for an entire community, and that may be one of the most meaningful contributions HR professionals can make.