ABOUT FBEP

…is a collaborative effort among the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board, educators, legislators, and other community groups. Our coalition strengthens the relationships among entities in a neutral, facilitated environment to generate discussion. As businesses divest their core processes into high technology ventures (such as advanced manufacturing and robotics), a “new breed” of skilled employees is required to attract and retain these businesses in the County.

Our focus has always been concentrated on our County’s High Priority Occupations List (HPO List) which is developed by the Department of Labor and Industry. We’ve dedicated a great deal of time to our STEAM jobs (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) and are working to find more ways to develop programing based on these occupations.

Along with acting as portal organization for interchange of information and ideas throughout the workforce community, we have created an aggressive program of action with a focus on assisting our schools with their 339 Career Pathways plans. The Chapter 339 plan is a comprehensive plan required by the PA School code which requires school districts to develop a guidance plan for every student K-12.

…was created in 2012 in an effort to respond to the needs of our employers to hire and keep skilled staff, and in reaction to a change in the career educational standards for our students throughout their school years. We are administered by the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, whose non-profit arm The Redstone Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) acts as the fiscal agent.

…pull together 50 to 60 professionals every other month to share information, build programming, and brainstorm ways to make our county a better place to live, work, and do business. This group is comprised of representatives from our educational community (public/private schools, early educators, post-secondary education, etc.); the organizations that support education in the county (Fayette Chamber and Workforce Investment Board, etc.); and businesses who have a vested interest in workforce development in the area (natural gas, healthcare, finance, tourism etc.). These individuals come together with incongruent perspectives of the workforce training and education processes to reach a common goal: an educational workforce in a thriving economy. They accomplish this goal by reviewing the county’s education and training infrastructure, legislative climate, and by providing feedback and programming for systemic improvements.

…we have completed successful programs that continue to grow year after year. For example, our Fluid Power Challenge (which exposes our middle school-aged youth to engineering principles like hydraulics and pneumatics) has grown from 12 teams and one county involvement to 29 teams with four county participation! Each year, our Business Pitch Competition (like TV’s Shark Tank) brings more and more high school students together to get excited about entrepreneurship! Currently we have a very vibrant Program of Action in place for the school year which will enhance current programming and implement new programing into Fayette County School Districts and Career and Technical Centers.

…of the Fayette Business Education Partnership (FBEP) is to develop collaborative partnerships between business and education, and to assist partners in creating and sustaining workforce development activities throughout Fayette County. The FBEP is to be a community network that forms working relationships.