Soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “Wall Street West” (WSW) was conceived to establish a strategic financial services and information technology backup in areas between 50-125 miles from Manhattan, on a different power grid and in a different watershed. That put Northeast PA in prime WSW territory.
Almost eight years later, WSW, a non-profit partnership of more than two dozen economic development agencies, technology investment groups, educational and research institutions and private-sector experts, is targeting the recession as much as it is homeland security.
“Education and job training funds are at a premium across the country, but in Northeastern Pennsylvania, we have invested more than $11 million into programs that are not only sustaining workforce development efforts, but expanding them,” says Wall Street West chairman Matt Connell.
WSW has expanded the list of industry sectors in which the initiative’s funding is eligible to healthcare, advanced materials and diversified manufacturing, logistics and transportation and science, technology, engineering and math. The group has also released an investment portfolio, expanded its geography to include Schuylkill County (joining Berks, Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike and Wayne) and created InterviewNEPA, a customized, web-based platform that offers individuals the chance to practice communications skills through simulated job interviews.
WSW has federal support through a $15 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for education and job training.
“In combination with the economic development opportunities that exist in the region, we have created a ready-made environment for any organization in need of business continuity solutions,” Connell says.
Source: Matt Connell, Wall Street West
Writer: Joe Petrucci
