About Us | Mission | Goals

About Us

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development includes four units:

The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) is a federal-state-university partnership for economic development. Helping Pennsylvania firms statewide since 1965, PennTAP is one of the nation's first technical assistance programs and remains a credible and valuable resource for helping Pennsylvania companies compete and grow. The service of PennTAP staff is confidential and provided at no cost to Pennsylvania firms.

The Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is part of a nationwide network of nearly 1,000 centers. It provides free business assistance to small firms and business start ups in Centre and Mifflin counties, enabling them to compete and grow in today's highly competitive global economy. The Penn State SBDC offers specialized training programs, seminars, and conferences designed to educate entrepreneurs on business topics ranging from basic business start-up skills to advanced management techniques.

Workforce Development Initiatives provides a focal point to coordinate major statewide initiatives in workforce development, facilities regional workforce development partnerships with Penn State campuses and other external partners, identifies funding opportunities, and helps develop proposals to support workforce development initiatives.

The Pennsylvania Plastics Initiative is a partnership between Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board (PA WIB). With support from the U.S. Department of Labor, the partnership integrates Pennsylvania's workforce, economic development, and education resources for a comprehensive approach to maintaining and growing the competitive advantage of the Commonwealth's plastics industry. The initiative is guided by a steering committee that includes representatives from plastics companies, PA WIB, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and industrial resource centers.

Mission

The mission of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development is to advance the economic well being of Pennsylvania by serving as a catalyst, facilitator and collaborator for using the resources, expertise and intellectual assets of Penn State University to help create and retain jobs and enhance the skills of the workforce in the Commonwealth.

Goals

The goals of OEWD are to:

• Support Pennsylvania employers and workforce through matching their needs with Penn State resources and engaging other external partners.
• Identify and facilitate opportunities for partnerships between University units statewide and other economic and workforce development organizations.
• Identify and capitalize on funding opportunities where Penn State can add value.
• Disseminate economic and workforce development information.
• Develop relationships with:
  key state and federal government agency officials
  other economic and workforce development organizations
  other post-secondary institutions
  organizations representing key industry clusters
  Penn State's Office of Government Affairs
• Become aware of University activities and impact related to economic and workforce development.
• Articulate and promote the University's role and contribution to economic and workforce development in Pennsylvania.