On September 10, business, education, and workforce leaders came together for Talent Flow 2026 with a shared goal: move beyond talking about workforce challenges and start building solutions together.

Hosted by the York County Regional Chamber, this year’s Talent Flow focused on a challenge we hear across industries: employers need talent, education and workforce partners want to prepare that talent, but connecting the two effectively requires a more coordinated approach.

Throughout the event, employers, educators, and service providers had candid conversations about where gaps exist and what it will take to create talent pipelines that better serve businesses and workers across York County.

The Challenge: It’s Not an Effort Problem

Employers and workforce partners are working hard, but Talent Flow highlighted challenges on both sides of the talent equation.

Employers shared that positions can remain open long enough to constrain growth, job requirements may no longer accurately reflect the work being performed, and retirements are outpacing the development of replacement talent.

At the same time, education and workforce partners face their own challenges. Employer participation can fade after an initial meeting, programs may be developed without enough employer demand data, and traditional measures of success can focus more on activity than actual job placements.

The takeaway from Talent Flow was clear: both realities can be true. The challenge isn't a lack of effort. It's how the system is designed.

That is where Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) comes in.

Introducing Talent Pipeline Management

Talent Flow marked the launch of the Chamber’s work around Talent Pipeline Management, an employer-led approach developed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

TPM provides employers and their education and workforce development partners with strategies and tools to co-design talent supply chains that connect learners and workers with jobs and career advancement opportunities.

Rather than starting with a program and looking for employers to participate, TPM starts with employer demand. What positions are businesses struggling to fill? What skills do those jobs actually require? Where is talent currently coming from? Where are the gaps?

That information can then help employers, educators, and workforce partners make more informed decisions together.

The TPM approach is:

• Built on industry best practices
• Authentically employer-led
• Designed to generate granular, actionable data on employer demand
• Structured to support agile collective action and decision-making
• Inclusive of the full spectrum of talent-sourcing providers
• Focused on creating shared value, competitiveness, and accountability
• Centered on employer return on investment

From Conversation to Action

Talent Flow also explored four strategies communities are using to strengthen their talent pipelines: employer-led sector partnerships, work-based learning, reskilling and upskilling current workers, and expanding into nontraditional talent pools.

For York County, putting those strategies into practice will require continued collaboration between businesses and the organizations educating, training, and connecting people to careers.

“I am excited to continue York Technical College’s partnership with the York County Regional Chamber as we help lead, alongside great partners, the development of two critical ecosystems for our region: energy and the life sciences. The Chamber’s expertise in Talent Pipeline Management will help us carry out the workforce strategy we are shaping for these sectors.

It is only through collaboration that is born from a shared vision for our region’s prosperity that we all can be the best of the best for those we serve.  I am confident in the Chamber’s  dedication to that shared vision.” - Dr. Stacey Moore, President, York Technical College

That partnership is central to the work ahead. Employers bring firsthand knowledge of changing jobs, skills, and workforce needs. Education and workforce partners bring expertise in preparing and connecting people to those opportunities. TPM creates a framework for those groups to work from shared information and develop solutions together.

Talent Flow Was Just the Beginning

Talent Flow 2026 wasn't designed to be the end of the workforce conversation. It was a starting point.

Through TPM, the Chamber will continue bringing employers together around shared workforce needs and creating opportunities for education and workforce partners to respond with solutions informed by real employer demand.

Building the workforce York County needs will take businesses, educators, workforce organizations, and community partners working together. Talent Flow demonstrated that there is no shortage of people ready to do the work.

Now, it's about creating the structure to turn that energy into action.

Interested in being part of this work? Connect with the York County Regional Chamber to learn more about Talent Pipeline Management and opportunities to get involved.

Thank you to our event sponsors!