The City of Atlanta announced the integration of WorkSource Atlanta in to Invest Atlanta—aligning the City’s workforce development arm with its economic development arm.

Nearly a year ago, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms appointed Kimberlyn Daniel to serve as interim Executive Director of WorkSource to establish a strategic plan that ensures the program serves Atlanta residents and to meet the deadlines of the WIOA grant programs. WorkSource will have successfully disbursed its PY17 WIOA funding and obligated its PY18 WIOA funding by the June 30 deadline.

“I want to thank Kimberlyn for her leadership and dedication to ensuring WorkSource truly serves our residents,” said Mayor Bottoms. “This integration pairs two of the most pivotal services provided by the City, which will result in world-class training and placement for the people of Atlanta—particularly those with barriers to employment—into the jobs Invest Atlanta is recruiting, retaining and growing.”

“It has been an honor to serve this administration and I am grateful for the support provided by Mayor Bottoms, the state and our partners,” said interim Executive Director Kimberlyn Daniel. “We have made great strides in strengthening our program and broadening our partner coalition. The WorkSource and Invest Atlanta teams are committed to delivering the services the people of Atlanta deserve.”

Charlotte, San Francisco, Denver and many other cities have integrated economic and workforce development teams, creating stronger alignment and collaboration between the agencies.

“To continue to be a competitive city for investment, we need to ensure our economic development and workforce programs align closely to the needs of businesses located in the city and those planning to come here,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “This integration will allow for greater collaboration with companies large and small to streamline the process of developing talent and connecting job-ready candidates with employment opportunities in high-growth industries. Together, we will leverage our strengths to serve the workforce needs of our businesses community better and help more Atlantans build wealth through good, middle-income jobs.”

Kimberlyn Daniel has committed to serve as interim Executive Director as long as needed until a permanent Executive Director is appointed. A national search to fill that position is underway.

The integration of WorkSource Atlanta into Invest Atlanta will follow a planning and implementation period.