There are 593 local and 53 state and territorial Workforce Development Boards (WDB), each playing a pivotal role in shaping the employment landscape of the communities they serve by fostering sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) environments, focusing on jobseeker- and employer-customers’ real-life workplace experiences to uncover and address systemic inequities.
KRA is fortunate to support its WDB-partners that champion fairness and equal opportunity, trusting our Career- and Business-Services specialists to provide exceptional hiring-support solutions—innovative recruitment, screening, training, and placement opportunities—to assist our minority-owned business customers in sustaining current operations and attaining long-term expansion goals.
As a Black-owned enterprise with 42 years’ experience, KRA appreciates firsthand how minority-owned businesses offer a wealth of untapped talent, providing unique perspectives, cultural knowledge, and diverse skill sets that enrich the workforce and drive economic growth within marginalized communities, benefitting both jobseekers and employers alike.
Derrick Colbert, KRA Director, Strategic Partnerships, commented, “In 1981, KRA was founded on the premise that DEI would always be at the core of our operational success. We’ve collaborated with more than 20 WDB-partners nationwide to connect jobseekers with ethnically- and culturally-diverse businesses, supporting an inclusive workforce, placing customers on the path to financial stability, and contributing, in “building-block” fashion to the economic prosperity of our communities, cities, states, and regions.”
To engage more effectively with minority-owned businesses, WDBs might consider creating partnerships with program operators that have demonstrated capacity to provide resources, support, and meaningful avenues for collaboration, which may include incorporating goals within each WDB’s strategic plan, e.g. targeted outreach, mentorship programs, additional funding streams, and tailored training initiatives.
Dr. Boone’s 20+ years’ experience in the industry is extensive and her expertise in private-, public-, and non-profit sector workforce-services organizations is unparalleled, particularly in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area.
