Preparing local students to be valuable employees in an ever-changing work climate is not a job for one individual, one group or even one institution.

It takes an alliance. It takes a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) alliance. It takes Lancaster County STEM Alliance (LCSA).

"In the business community, there was a lot of talk that students were graduating and needed to be totally trained," said Lauren Miller, a Manheim Township resident who is the executive director of LCSA. "We saw that the teachers were working their tails off, so there was this disconnect. We needed to be aligned. We didn't want our talent to grow here and then leave because they didn't think there were career opportunities here. The business world is changing so much and so quickly that we still need to have these tricky conversations."

Headquartered at 23 E. King St., Lancaster, LCSA is a consortium dedicated to helping Lancaster County students to become workforce ready by the time they graduate from high school. The organization's 25-member advisory board meets four times each year to brainstorm, analyze data, set goals and implement policies.

"To collectively impact, that's been the whole purpose of why we exist," said Miller. "No one person can solve our workforce challenges. That's where the power happens. We say, 'Join the movement.' No one organization has all the resources or all the answers. We have to be leveraging each other's strengths."

Each September LCSA conducts its Workforce 2030 Summit, an annual conference designed to make Lancaster County a work-ready community by 2030. This year, more than 250 educators, business leaders, representatives of nonprofits and community partners attended.

LCSA also engages in grant-giving, programs, projects and learning platforms like apprenticeships, internships, job shadowing, company tours and mentoring.

"To me, the term STEM is all about creative thinking, problem-solving and all the things that make you successful in the workplace," said Miller. "It's the Lancaster County STEM Alliance's belief that all Lancaster County students should be graduating with basic STEM skills. STEM jobs pay well, and the demand for them is growing."

LCSA is a collaborative network of dozens of local organizations similar to the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 and the United Way of Lancaster County. LCSA also works closely with the county's 16 public school districts and 15 non-public schools located in Lancaster County.

"We're hyper-focused on Lancaster County," said Miller. "I think the people who are involved with the Lancaster County STEM Alliance are civically minded community leaders who are committed to Lancaster County residents having life-sustaining wages. They want to make Lancaster better. They're willing to invest their capital and resources to ensure people have jobs that are meaningful."

In 2024, 23,000 individuals participated in LCSA programs.

"We've always needed essential life skills," said Miller. "But work has become more technology driven. The world of work is no longer factory based, and work has required us to do more thinking. Jobs look very different today."

Miller and foundation program coordinator Andrew Garner make up LCSA's two-employee staff, but the organization relies heavily on the contributions of numerous volunteers. LCSA's work is almost entirely funded through the Steinman Foundation, whose mission is to ensure quality of life for all the citizens of Lancaster County.

"We have a committed group of people who are trying to prepare the workforce of tomorrow," said Miller. "It's not just the sole responsibility of parents or educators to prepare the new generation for work. We all play a critical role in a student's education. We really need the community to open doors to the education system."

LCSA was established in 2015. A year later, the organization was recognized nationally as a STEM ecosystem.

"I think a large majority of the community doesn't even know we exist," said Miller. "But we have definitely grown quite a bit over the last three years. We're only as strong as the network of people who are supporting us. There are a lot of ways to get involved in the Lancaster County STEM Alliance."

For additional information, go to http://www.lancasterstem.org.