A Lehigh Valley executive is launching Allentown United Football Club, a semi-professional soccer team that is gearing up for its first season this September.

The strong economy has been making it difficult for businesses that need qualified and skilled technical workers. And while some established workforce initiatives with a long-range focus are paying off, other efforts are underway to match workers’ skills with specific jobs in the shorter term, several observers said in recent interviews.

Compliance Navigation Specialists plans to relocate the bulk of its operations from its facility in Warwick Township to a new facility in Manheim Township by the end of 2020.

Skilled workers are hard to find, so a Lancaster County mechanical contractor created a training program that allows it to hire employees with zero experience and train them in the field.

Andrew Barninger, 30, joined Personal Wealth Advisory in 2013 and was recently named partner. He will be involved in launching NextPhase, which will focus on business transition planning.

MediaNews Group, a nationwide media company, has made the sole qualified bid for Reading Eagle Company's assets, the Reading Eagle reported Thursday.

Jon Crothers, 33, is the operations improvement coordinator at Quarryville-based Stoner Inc., a producer of products used in the household, automotive and thermoforming industries.

Nestle Purina Pet Care Co.'s Hampden Township, Cumberland County factory has had a mutually beneficial relationship with Thaddeus Stevens College for ten years. The factory provides time and resources to the Lancaster college and many of the school's students have moved on to careers with the factory. As the state's manufacturing companies struggle to find new hires in a a record low unemployment, the benefits of such a relationship have become more apparent.

Harrisburg-based Susquehanna Esports has a new home in downtown Harrisburg's SoMA neighborhood.

Harrisburg University has hired an executive director for its new Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Orrstown Bank has expanded its leadership team in the Harrisburg area, naming Zack Khuri to the new position of market president for the capital region.

Tobacco 21 is a nationwide movement to increase the legal purchasing age of tobacco from 18 to 21. If this legislation passes in Pennsylvania, there will be fewer smokers in the future, and medical costs, tax burdens and productivity losses will decrease. 

I don't mean to diminish the feelings of joyful anticipation and renewed energy that spring brings, but, here at the Business Journal, we're already thinking all the way out to October.

What makes Harrisburg an attractive place to live, work and play for professionals in their 20s and 30s? What is lacking that would make the city even better 10 or 20 years from now? Those are questions that the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, or TCRPC, is asking young professionals in the region.

Harrisburg University has the top collegiate Overwatch team in the country. HU won the national championship on Sunday at the ESPN Collegiate Esports Championships in Texas.