Innovations in Foreign Direct Investment Attraction

3.2.5  Louisiana Economic Development – Aftercare and Skills & Training 

Importance of skills and training aftercare programs 

The availability of a skilled workforce is a key location determinant for foreign inves-

tors. According to data from fDi Markets, skilled workforce availability is the third 

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most important location determinant for FDI in LAC after market size and access, 

and the regulatory and business climate. 

Graph 3 below shows in more detail the importance of skilled workforce availability 

for different types of operation. The data shows that skilled workforce availability is 

especially important for BPO type operations and R&D type operations, which are 

driven by access and availability of specialized skills. Nearly 80% of shared services 

centers in LAC cited availability of a skilled workforce as a location determinant.

GRAPH 3.

 FDI projects in LAC citing skilled workforce availability as a key location determinant (percentage)

Source: fDi Markets. Based on 2,300 FDI projects in LAC from 2003-September 2016.

The support that investors receive to help recruit a skilled workforce can therefore 

be a critical factor in determining which location is selected for investment, in par-

ticular for export-oriented services (as the graph above shows), but also for manu-

facturing investors, where skilled workforce availability is the third most important 

location determinant for investors according to fDi Markets data. Investors also as-

sess the availability of training services and support, so that once they recruit their 

workforce they can provide the necessary training to ensure the highest productivity 

levels. The training services and support available is also a key factor influencing the 

expansion and upgrading of operations over time.

From an economic development perspective, providing support for skills develop-

ment and training is one of the most important economic development policies as 

not only can such policies attract new investors and facilitate the re-investment and 

subsidiary upgrading of existing investors, but it increases the productivity of the 

workforce and the economy, which is the basis for sustained economic growth and 

development. Furthermore, if the investor closes their operation, the country has a 

higher skilled workforce that can attract new investment.  

Many economic development organizations in the US and EU thus provide financial 

1.2

5

5.6

5.5

6.1

9

17.7

47.4

51.9

60

78.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Logistics, Distribution & Transportation

Business Services

Extraction & Electricity

Education & Training

Construction

ICT & Internet Infrastructure

Manufacturing

Design, Development & Testing

Customer Contact Centre

Technical Support Centre

Shared Services Centre

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and non-financial support for skills and training development as one of their key in-

vestment attraction and economic development services. The case study of Louisiana 

Economic Development (LED) is provided below, which has been ranked as having 

the best training program for investors in the US in each of the last 7 years.