This dissertation explores the private-public sector partnership between CVS/pharmacy and the federal/state workforce development system in Minnesota. The study describes how CVS creates partnerships with the federal/state system of one-stop career centers and other partners in the workforce development arena such as community or faith-based organizations, local Minnesota Workforce Investment Boards, the K-12 system, the community and technical college system, and universities. The research contributes to the literature on how employers can connect with federal, state, and local entities to build successful partnerships for workforce development. This study also explores how CVS partners with the workforce development system to train and provide entry-level jobs for workers using funding from the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and federal grants to supplement corporate training resources.

In addition, this study documents the CVS model of partnerships and collaborations and explores how the corporation has made the system used in Minnesota sustainable and replicable as it has entered new markets across the United States. Other studies have documented successful partnerships, but they are have not been replicated from state to state or been sustained when federal funding stopped. This study is important because to my knowledge, no other major United States retail employer has developed a sustainable and well-functioning business model for connecting with the workforce development system in each state in which the retailer operates. A replicable model for forming and sustaining public-private partnerships through the workforce development system should enhance the competitiveness of the American workforce in the 21^st Century global marketplace.