Innovations in Foreign Direct Investment Attraction

Case study: Louisiana Economic Development

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Louisiana Economic Development (LED) developed a dedicated workforce training 

initiative called “FastStart” to support inward investors in Louisiana. FastStart has 

been ranked the best training program in the United States for seven years running 

by both The Economist and Business Facilities Magazine.

FastStart delivers training in quality, leadership, lean manufacturing, animation and 

other critical areas, and covers a wide variety of industries such as advanced manu-

facturing, aerospace, digital media and pharmaceuticals. 

FastStart services are designed and tailored exclusively for each company, with no 

preconceived notions about the best approach and no bias regarding the use of ex-

isting training programs or facilities. FastStart starts working immediately without 

requiring an application or cumbersome approval forms. Every FastStart project fo-

cuses only on each company’s target performance measures rather than the number 

of classes taught or hours trained.

FastStart has developed a reputation for creating custom, and often high-tech, re-

cruitment and training products for companies that agree to bring more jobs to Lou-

isiana. These products range from 3D animated training videos that give step-by-step 

instructions to new hires to targeted recruitment campaigns on social media that get 

the word out about new jobs in Louisiana’s expanding knowledge economy. 

To date, FastStart has worked on 147 different projects in every region of the state. 

The services are offered at no cost to the company and are part of the incentives 

package negotiated by LED. To qualify for FastStart services, a company must first 

commit to creating a net of at least 15 new, permanent manufacturing jobs, or a net 

of at least 50 new, permanent service-related jobs.

FastStart has a dedicated team of skills and training experts providing the following 

four key services to investors: