Introducing The Highlands Economic Partnership

Four Counties. One Goal. Prosperity.

Our Impact Initiatives

The Highlands Economic Partnership strives to improve the quality of life for all citizensby providing opportunities for businesses to grow and prosper, and by providing access for citizens of all ages educational experiences that will allow them to better themselves generationally. We do this through Economic Development, Workforce Development and Workplace Education.

Raise Median Household Income

A key factor in the quality of life for individuals is obtaining a wage that allows long term planning and stability. In the Highlands region, the current median household income is $44,567, our goal is to raise this average to meet the state level of $54,089. We will accomplish this by recruiting higher wage career opportunities, upskilling our current workforce and targeting socioeconomic groups for workforce re-entry.

Fill Open Jobs

Across the Highlands region, our industry workforce demands are higher than they have ever been. With nearly, 11,000 open positions, our goal is to facilitate as many opportunities for our industry partners to interview superior talent- both locally and nationally. Through our recruitment efforts, we will reach over 100,000 people in an attempt to bring talent to the Highlands region and meet the workforce needs of our industry partners.

Bolster a Workforce Pipeline

By peaking the career interests of students with hands-on industrial learning opportunities, our hope is to capitalize on their interest by retaining our future workforce as they graduate from secondary and post-secondary institutions. Through career exploration opportunities, industry speakers, and more, we will leverage our education partnerships as a way to shape school curriculum allowing the interests of the students to coincide with the needs of our industry partners.

Strategically Recruit Businesses that Meet Community Needs

By partnering with several economic development entities that help facilitate opportunities of new industry development, we have a unique opportunity to recruit businesses that can add a unique or underserved value to the citizens of the four-county region while bringing high-quality, high paying jobs to our area and improving the quality of life for all who live here.