New Castle County economic development office outlines workforce, small‑business and corridor priorities

The New Castle County Office of Economic Development presented its quarterly update to the Economic Development Committee on Sept. 9, outlining three cornerstone priorities — workforce development, small-business support and corridor revitalization — and describing near-term work including a workforce study with the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce and an enhanced small-business incubator partnership.

"We think of [workforce development] as understanding what the composition of the current labor force in the county is today, the workforce that we're gonna need tomorrow, and how do we put programming in place to make sure that we can fill in gaps," Jeff Berman, economic development director, said as he described the administration's priorities. He said the office asked the Chamber to perform a workforce study and expects to have that report in members' hands by the next subcommittee update.

Why it matters: the findings will guide targeted programs and corridor plans intended to attract private investment and align jobs with resident skill sets. The office said it will reuse existing local frameworks — notably the Chamber's small-business incubator — to scale services for entrepreneurs and extend outreach to diverse business owners.

Berman des…