Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ plan to improve economic mobility and job opportunities for Atlantans by integrating WorkSource Atlanta—the City’s workforce development arm—into Invest Atlanta—the City’s economic development arm—was unanimously adopted by the Atlanta City Council (Resolution 20-R-4375).

“Our Administration’s plan to merge WorkSource Atlanta with Invest Atlanta is a critical and necessary step to delivering on our recently adopted One Atlanta: Economic Mobility, Recovery & Resiliency Plan,” said Mayor Bottoms. “This integrated approach solidifies more opportunities for Atlantans to compete for and retain jobs. Thank you to our partners and staff for supporting this ambitious endeavor.”

Merging WorkSource Atlanta with Invest Atlanta strengthens the Mayor’s One Atlanta: Economic Mobility, Recovery, and Resiliency Plan, which was adopted by Invest Atlanta’s Board during their August 2020 meeting. This plan will help position Atlanta as one of the most competitive and innovative cities in the country.

Invest Atlanta's core mission is to attract and bolster business and job growth, while WorkSource Atlanta is focused on ensuring Atlanta residents have the education, skills, and training needed to obtain and retain jobs.  By aligning these agencies, job seekers will receive training and skill development that employers need and demand—resulting in higher wages, career advancement, a skilled workforce, and increased productivity. This integration was supported by the Federal Reserve System and Stanford Social Innovation Review.

“Thank you to Mayor Bottoms, her Administration, the Atlanta City Council and WorkSource Atlanta for their leadership and commitment to improving workforce development so that more Atlantans can build wealth through good, middle-income jobs,” said Invest Atlanta President and CEO Eloisa Klementich. “For more than a year, we have worked intensely on a plan to unify Invest Atlanta and WorkSource Atlanta to better serve our workforce with in-demand job training, and our employers with highly skilled professionals to help them grow.”

Approval of the Administration’s intergovernmental agreement to merge WorkSource Atlanta and Invest Atlanta allows the agencies to officially integrate their services and work. The intergovernmental agreement will be considered for final adoption by Invest Atlanta during their next board meeting.