Workforce development is a critical part of successful community economic development initiatives. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, understand, and interpret local leaders' perceptions of workforce development through interviews with key stakeholders who held one of four specific staff roles, in two Georgia communities. A semi-structured interview was used with eight participants to better understand three key research questions: (1) How do participants explain the concepts of workforce development and workforce education? How did these perceptions develop? (2) What role(s) do these individuals currently occupy and how do they perceive their role(s) in workforce development? (3) How does workforce development overlap with community economic development? The results of this study aimed to add to the body of knowledge by providing much needed insights regarding workforce specifically from local officials, insights which are often overlooked or addressed through national and state-level quantitative surveys, rather than qualitative interviews. Major themes included a focus on the importance of skills development, ensuring that these skills have real-world application, and that said skills are aligned with the needs of local business and industry partners. Themes also arose around the importance of early educational interventions, potential policy implications, and nuances of workforce education today versus recent history. This study also provided insights into the University of Georgia's Archway Partnership and the impact it has particularly on localized collaboration and the value of a neutral-third party community facilitator. Themes and insights from this research may provide community leaders with recommendations on how to address workforce challenges through a collaborative, rather than disparate, approach. Additionally, it may also provide new perspectives to those (such as educators or business partners) who work with and alongside community leaders in workforce development. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]