In the late 1800s, wristwatches gained popularity in America. Mass production made them widely available, and J.R. Parsons of La Porte, Indiana, saw an opportunity to train a new generation of skilled watchmakers to “handle these delicate machines.”[1] In 1886, he founded the Parsons Horological Institute — that’s watchmaking, for the rest of us. The school offered training in Elementary Watch Work, Finishing, Engraving, Jewelry Work, and General Clock Work.
By 1892, demand had outgrown the space, and Parsons needed larger facilities. Enter Lydia Moss Bradley. She purchased a controlling interest in the school, chartered a special train, and moved students, faculty, and equipment to Peoria, Illinois, into the newly leased Peoria Watch Factory.[2] The horological institute eventually became part of Bradley Polytechnic Institute.
By 1895, the watch factory had shifted focus from watches to bicycles. The same building, once devoted to the art of horology, then employed more than 300 men crafting some of the finest bicycles on the market. By 1899, the bicycle craze had faded, and the space was repurposed once again — this time for automobile manufacturing. By 1902, “The Glide” automobile rolled out of that former watchmaking shop.
So why the history lesson?
This story captures the pace of change in late 19th-century America. Over the span of just ten years, the same factory transitioned from watchmaking to bicycle manufacturing to automobile production, capturing the remarkable speed of change driven by the second wave of the Industrial Revolution.
Just like the watchmakers, bicycle builders, and early automakers of the past, today’s workforce must continually adapt—learning new technical skills, rethinking old processes, and staying nimble as technology transforms how we live and work. Today, emerging fields like AI, robotics, and data analytics are rapidly reshaping nearly every industry, from healthcare to logistics to education.
How do businesses keep up with the pace of change? And how can individuals prepare for jobs that are in demand? How can we get ahead of the innovation curve and respond quickly and efficiently to meet emerging workforce needs?
Colleges are actively engaged in building connections with local businesses, industry partners, and community organizations. These relationships are the foundation for understanding workforce needs. Our community and technical colleges are uniquely positioned to adapt to the evolving needs of local industries, develop and deliver training programs that equip the workforce with the precise skills employers require.
Salesforce was built for this challenge.
Core CRM features allow colleges to map connections across organizations, identify key stakeholders, and align initiatives with the workforce priorities of each partner. Business Development managers can capture and track outreach efforts, meeting notes, and shared goals for each employer.
Salesforce can be designed to manage the process that will lead to a signed workforce development agreement with a local business or community partner. It can also be leveraged to help colleges manage their grant applications for federal, state, or community-funded workforce development programs.
Through features like dashboards and analytics, colleges can also measure partnership engagement, track outcomes of employer-driven programs, and identify emerging needs within local industries. This data-driven approach helps institutions demonstrate their value as strategic partners in regional economic development.
Just as the innovators of the Industrial Revolution harnessed new tools to shape a changing world, today’s community and technical colleges have the opportunity to do the same. The technologies driving this era demand collaboration between colleges, employers, and community partners to ensure that talent keeps pace with transformation.
With Salesforce as a unifying platform, institutions can build and sustain those vital relationships, track progress, and turn insight into action. By combining the human connection at the heart of workforce development with the powerful capabilities of modern technology, colleges can help communities not only keep up with change—but lead it.
We’ll share additional insights during our webinar “Empower Learners, Employers, and Staff: Workforce Development Reimagined with Salesforce” on January 22, 2026 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT.
[1] Parson Horological Institute.” Scientific American 69, no. 2 (July 8, 1893).
[2] Upton, Allen A. Forgotten Angel: The Story of Lydia Moss Bradley. Peoria, IL: Bradley University, 2005.
