The Benefits of a Well-Educated Workforce

You can create a groundbreaking product with cutting edge equipment in the most modern facility, but if you don’t employ a trained, well-educated workforce, your business won’t go far. A well-educated workforce attracts companies because skilled, trained workers make businesses more competitive and productive.

And when your business needs change, you’ll also have access to a greater number of experienced employee candidates from which to hire.

More Education Equals Higher Wages — and a Qualified Talent Pool

As a business owner, you target customers with money to spend on your product or service. Study after study proves that states with a well-educated workforce outperform in terms of median wages and economy. Higher wages translate into stronger property values, better infrastructure, and more opportunities for investment. That’s why shared prosperity attracts experienced leaders and educated workers alike. Because workforce plays an essential role in the health of your enterprise, you need access to both. When you can hire from a talented pool of candidates at all levels, you strengthen your business’s productivity and competitiveness.

Economic Security Depends on Education

Because higher wages translate into more tax revenue, states that make education funding a priority are better able to attract smarter students from a more diverse talent pool. Educational opportunities may include postsecondary, post-baccalaureate and technical training.

What is the purpose of these programs? To increase the number of graduates who can win jobs that pay enough to provide economic security and support a family. Economically secure individuals are better able to purchase goods and services within their local communities, without government assistance. Areas that lack access to quality education resources are less likely to flourish economically.

Education Benefits Health and Wellness for Multiple Generations

According to the Economic Policy Institute, educated individuals are more likely to live longer and in better health. As a business owner, that reduces your healthcare costs. They’re also less likely to commit crimes. Families with educated parents are more likely to raise children who believe in the importance of learning. Their kids are healthier, smarter and achieve more. In this way, kids of educated parents are more likely to value education, and more likely to graduate college and secure high-paying jobs for themselves. When educated children return to the communities of their youth to set down roots as adults, they cement a community’s reputation as a family-friendly center where thriving is not just possible, but the norm.

Education Boosts Productivity

Although it’s true that an educated workforce raises your business’s employee salary, you’re likely to capture a significant boost in productivity when you pay higher wages. You’ll attract stronger candidates, because stronger candidates expect to earn more money, but data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also suggests that states with the biggest increases in median worker compensation also experienced the biggest boosts in output. The bottom line is that educated workers are driven to perform well, and demonstrate the desire to complete tasks. As a business owner, when you share the bigger profits from boosted productivity in the form of higher wages, you increase the standard of living for your employees and grow your local economy.

Education Supports Higher Profits and Stronger Growth

When you can get more results from the same number of employees, you boost productivity — and that means you grow your bottom line. A bigger profit means you can better invest in your business by buying or expanding your infrastructure, purchasing more modern equipment, negotiating better deals with suppliers and spending more on advertising.

Your business could offer employees the chance to learn from new schools at a local college or technical institute, or you could develop a partnership with a local institution so that future employees have the skills your business needs to flourish. Eventually, you may decide to hire more workers, or explore new products or services. The bigger your profits grow, the more opportunities you have.

About Cumberland County and CAEDC

Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation (CAEDC) bridges the gap between business and government. We provide businesses in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania with the resources they need to grow, including economic incentives, funding, and loans.

Cumberland County is a desirable location for businesses across diverse industries because a skilled workforce, specialized business incentives, outstanding infrastructure and an excellent and affordable quality of life make our communities special. We can connect your business with job creation and training resources that will strengthen your enterprise and Cumberland County.

For more information on Cumberland County, contact CAEDC.

Contact Us