Strategic Partners International

SPI began in 2002 as a marketing company specializing in community, public, and government relations. We started by providing services to municipalities, political bodies, and large corporate entities. As our company evolved, it became apparent that the real issue was not unemployment but employability and a growing skills gap in certain populations. SPI recreated itself to provide solutions to address this vast gap identified by companies and communities to ensure that individuals had the right skills to meet changing workforce needs. In order to secure the right expertise and knowledge, SPI met extensively with employment practitioners and engaged new principals and executives to help lead the charge. We recently welcomed as principals and executives to our team, Sarah A. Sarafa and Rolf Kleiner, who have significant global human resources, outsourcing and consulting experience and a strong commitment to community.

Each of our principals share a commitment to changing the talent and labor world versus just talking about it. Our mission is ambitious: to change the way we identify, engage, train and develop talent and labor, and in so doing provide economic benefit to employers and workers alike.

This solution is glaringly absent from the marketplace. Most providers focus on one or two employment solutions. They may engage in training, or staffing, or employment readiness. Therein lies the problem. Who is looking at the big picture? Who is matching need with opportunity? We need companies that identify talent gaps, mobilize to close those gaps with a diverse workforce, and then work to ensure that those workers are indeed making contributions as productive employees. SPI is that company. We offer a turnkey employment solution as a diverse, certified company.

“The issue is not lack of people but of lack of people with the skills that employers need to meet their growth requirements. Employers need a trained, diverse, retained workforce. Ongoing training is the value proposition. In the State of Michigan alone, state elected officials have identified closing the skill gap as the most critical issue facing Michigan’s future. We must collaborate, develop talent and connect supply and demand.”

~Sarah Sarafa, SPI President