07/15/2026
As businesses across our region continue to face challenges finding skilled workers, one thing has become clear: the recruiting strategies that worked in the past aren't producing the same results today. We can't keep opening the same cupboard and expecting it to magically be full.
Building a strong workforce doesn't begin when someone is looking for a job—it starts years earlier by exposing young people to career opportunities and helping them discover their interests.
This article, "Where Does Workforce Development Actually Begin?", by a workforce development author from Purdue University, does a great job explaining why early career awareness matters.
Whether you're in the construction trades, manufacturing, education, healthcare, or another industry, we're all facing the same workforce challenges. That's one of the reasons SEIBA created Build My Future for 7th graders—to plant the seed early, spark curiosity, and inspire the next generation of skilled professionals.
Take a few minutes to read the article and consider how we can all play a role in developing tomorrow's workforce.
Why the future of manufacturing talent begins long before recruitment Sascha Harrell, Ph.D.
