Regional Workforce Development Plan 2024–2027 | Southwest Region
FinancesStratSol created the strategic workforce plan for Puerto Rico’s Southwest Region, aligning local strategies with WIOA requirements. The plan addresses economic disparities, labor market dynamics, and training priorities across 11 municipalities.
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Southwest Workforce Development Region (Área de Conexión Laboral Suroeste y Ponce)
Services
Business, Consulting, Finance
Project Brief
Commissioned by the Regional Committee of the Southwest Region, StratSol was tasked with designing a four-year regional plan in full compliance with federal regulations under 20 CFR §§ 679.500–679.540 and Puerto Rico’s WIOA policy framework. The Southwest region includes the ALCL Suroeste (10 municipalities) and ALCL Ponce (Ponce municipality), which together face shared challenges such as high poverty, low labor force participation, technological barriers, and population decline. Our plan addressed these challenges through evidence-based strategies for workforce alignment, equitable service access, economic recovery, and growth. It also served as a coordination instrument between municipalities and agencies, ensuring a unified and actionable vision for the region’s workforce development.
key Priorities and Insights
- Over 50% of the population lives under the poverty line; digital and educational disparities persist across subregions.
- Youth migration and aging demographics challenge long-term labor supply and economic sustainability.
- High potential for growth in industries such as construction, health care, tourism, and renewable energy.
- Substantial workforce disengagement (labor force participation below 45%) requires innovative reactivation efforts.
- Urgent need to expand broadband access and digital literacy across underserved communities.
- Opportunities to improve interagency coordination and develop regional training pipelines aligned with high-growth sectors.
Our Role
- Conducted comprehensive demographic, economic, and labor market diagnostics.
- Led regional consultations with workforce boards, economic development entities, and key sector stakeholders.
- Developed shared vision, goals, objectives, and outcome-based strategies for both ALCL Suroeste and Ponce.
- Integrated FODA (SWOT) and QWI (Quarterly Workforce Indicators) analysis to inform policy and investment direction.
- Delivered implementation plans, workplans by goal, performance monitoring strategies, and fiscal coordination models.
- Ensured alignment with the Puerto Rico Unified State Plan and federal WIOA policy requirements.
