Connect & Grow

A tight-knit professional community in Delaware provides countless opportunities to prosper.




Where Talent Meets Opportunity

Delaware has capitalized on its small size and legacy of innovation by weaving a tight network of professional organizations, partnerships and opportunities to create a business environment where everyone can thrive. No matter which industry you work in, there are unlimited ways to enhance your career and connections in the First State.

Professional networking and opportunity are only as successful as the people who do the work, and Delaware’s talent pool is deep and strong. Our professional workforce is among the most highly educated in the nation, with a particular emphasis in the fields of science and technology. Nationally, Delaware has the fourth-highest concentration of employed Ph.D.’s in health, science and engineering, while the number of STEM-educated college graduates living in the state increased by 25% between 2009 and 2017. Overall, 31% of Delawareans have a bachelor’s or graduate degree, which is above the national average.

Real Opportunities Start Here

The most meaningful opportunities rarely come from a job board — they come from conversations. From a colleague who knows someone. A meet-up that turns into a mentorship. A night class that becomes a new career.

In Delaware, those kinds of connections happen every day — across coworking tables, leadership programs, and neighborhood events. It’s a state where people show up, make time, and help each other grow. No gatekeeping. No red tape. Just real people building something better together.

Whether you’re switching industries, moving up in your field, or figuring it out as you go, you don’t have to do it alone. Delaware’s education partners and professional networks make it easy to level up — with courses that fit your schedule and communities that want to hear your ideas.

The resources are here. The challenge is just choosing where to start.

Connect

Whether you’re trying to connect with like-minded professionals, sharpen your leadership skills, or break into a new industry, these organizations make it easy to get involved. Below are a few places to plug into Delaware’s thriving network of doers, thinkers, and changemakers.

See also:

Delaware Young Professionals Network

Connect with emerging leaders and peers across the state through networking events, service opportunities, and professional development programs.

Leadership Delaware

A highly selective leadership program cultivating the next generation of Delaware’s civic, business, and nonprofit leaders.

MillSummit

An annual gathering of millennial professionals and changemakers in Delaware and the region — one of the most dynamic events of its kind.

Leadership Central Delaware

A flagship program bringing together emerging leaders in Central Delaware for a ten-month experience focused on professional growth, civic engagement, and community impact.

The Connect DE

The Connect DE is a dynamic platform creating space for connection, culture, and advancement in Delaware and beyond.

Delaware SHRM

The go-to resource for HR professionals statewide offering events, certifications, and resources to help elevate workplace culture and talent strategies.

Delaware Bio

Delaware BioScience Association’s members benefit from industry news, networking events, policy engagement, and workforce initiatives.

Tech Council of Delaware

The Council convenes innovators, founders, and employers to shape the future of technology in the First State.

Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA)

DESCA drives innovation in clean and sustainable chemistry by connecting entrepreneurs, industry experts, and investors.

Delaware Arts Alliance

The Delaware Arts Alliance works to strengthen the creative sector through advocacy, education, and cross-sector collaboration.

Office of Supplier Diversity

Part of the Delaware Division of Small Business, the Office of Supplier Diversity helps connect minority-, women-, veteran-, and disabled-owned businesses with contracting opportunities and state certifications to grow their reach.

Commercial Industrial Realty Council (CIRC)

CIRC is a network of commercial real estate professionals with regular networking events, market updates, and professional development programs focused on industry trends and dealmaking.

    Professional Organizations and Networking Opportunities

    • The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce represents businesses in the state, with many individual Chambers of Commerce quite active in their local areas.
    • The Next Generation (Next Gen): Next Gen is part of the philanthropic organization, Delaware Community Foundation, and one of the giving circles dedicated to developing young professionals into effective nonprofit board leaders.
    • Leadership Delaware: This organization recruits outstanding young Delawareans and prepares them with the knowledge, vision, integrity and networks to significantly impact and transform their communities.
    • Delaware Young Professionals Network (DYPN): DPYN encourages ambitious young professionals between the ages of 21 and 40 to get involved in the State Chamber and further their professional growth and connections.
    • Millennial Summit: The Summit is a one-of-a-kind event bringing hundreds of professionals of all ages and backgrounds to Wilmington to connect difference- makers, rising stars and other leaders who want to make an impact in their community.
    • Tech Forum of Delaware: The Tech Forum’s goal is to help entrepreneurs identify business opportunities and build profitable relationships around the region. This mission is supported with monthly programming, alternating between educational seminars and professional networking.

    Options for Continuing Education

    As Delaware’s financial services firms grow their fintech capabilities, innovative tech talent development programs like Zip Code Wilmington meet demand with significant local investment and support. Established in 2015, Zip Code Wilmington is a nonprofit, software programming bootcamp which partners with local employers — including Bank of America, Barclays, Blackrock, Capital One, CSC, JPMorgan Chase, M&T Bank, and WSFS — to supplement Delaware’s tech talent pipeline. 93% of graduates are placed in paid employment six months after completing the program.

    The vocational high schools in Delaware offer an array of adult education programs, which include both classes and hands-on training at apprenticeships. Polytech in Kent County offers a variety of career and apprenticeship programs such as the Industrial Maintenance Mechanics Program with manufacturing apprenticeships at Hirsh Industries and W.L. Gore & Associates among others.

    Each year the majority of master’s graduates from the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics are employed within the state one year after graduation, establishing the College as a substantial talent source for the state. Lerner College offers bachelors and professional degrees in accounting, economics, finance and more, as well as an online MBA program that is world-renowned — ranking #19 in CEO Magazine’s global online MBA List.

    ChristianaCare is one of the largest community-based teaching hospitals conducting research in the United States with 260 residents and fellows. ChristianaCare offers focused opportunities in gynecology, for which it is ranked #24 in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.

    Delaware was rated #1 Business Legal Climate by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, 2019, and opportunities in this field are extensive. Widener University Delaware School of Law has 12,000 alumni practicing locally and throughout the world, including past presidents of the Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar associations, 195 sitting judges, a sitting Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, and a sitting Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

    Other notable graduate programs include the University of Delaware’s chemical engineering graduate program, which is ranked #8 in the nation, and the physical therapy graduate program, which is ranked #1 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.