Leaders hailing from Fortune 100 companies to vital community organizations gathered at UCLA Extension’s Gayley Center in Westwood for the BizFed Institute’s Workforce Development Forum and Career Fair, an event that explored ways to train talent and develop a stronger workforce for Los Angeles County.

The primary purpose of the Feb. 20 event was to encourage companies to engage in efforts to develop their workforces with on-the-job training, apprenticeships and education opportunities.

“With the new ways of doing business, you have to invest in upskilling your workforce,” said Kevin Harbour, president of the BizFed Institute.

BizFed is a grassroots alliance that unites chambers of commerce, trade associations, minority business groups, economic development organizations, business improvement districts and other business groups to advocate for policies and projects that strengthen the regional economy. This was the first time that UCLA Extension has hosted a BizFed event. More than 100 people attended, from C-suite executives to human resources professionals and government employees – many of whom set up recruitment tables at the career fair following the event.

Keynote speaker Derek Kirk, senior advisor for economic policy at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, stressed the importance of public-private partnerships to create well-paying jobs and opportunities for Californians.

“We are trying at the state-level to build new systems to connect the dots in new ways – not to come back and say, ‘this is how you do it,’ but to learn from you,” he said. “The work you all are doing here today is so critical to the work we will do at the state level.”

Included in the programming was the “Success Stories and a Path to a Skilled Workforce” panel, which featured Eric A. Bullard, dean of continuing education at UCLA Extension; Cynthia Mitchell-Heard, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League; Kim Fedrick, chief program officer of JVS SoCal; and Randall Martinez, EVP and COO of the Cordoba Corporation. Stephen Cheung, president and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, moderated the discussion, which took on topics such as funding, curricula, target populations, advocacy and the importance of public-private partnerships.

Additional speakers included Kelly LoBianco from LA County’s Department of Economic Opportunity and Bill Stephens from Employers Group and EverythingHR.

After the speakers and panels concluded, attendees were able to divide into smaller groups where they could enjoy facetime with speakers and panelists, receiving answers to their questions and engaging in more in-depth discussion with their peers.

The career fair, which was open to the public, provided an opportunity for businesses to connect with potential employees and was heavily attended by job seekers.

“Getting the businesses looking to hire connected with all the people who want to get hired – that’s our model,” Harbour said of the fair.

To learn more, or watch a video of the speakers and panels, visit the BizFed Institute website.