A Catalyst for Economic Vitality

Reinvigorating the Boulder workforce

Being a catalyst for economic change means helping businesses and industries thrive within the Boulder community. Scott Sternberg, Associate Vice President for Economic Vitality, explains what makes our business community unique: “Many towns of our size are fortunate to have one or two key industries that have clustered together. In Boulder, we are lucky to have at least six industries.”

The industries Sternberg references include aerospace, bioscience, cleantech, IT & software, natural products, and outdoor recreation. Some of these industries and the businesses that are a part of them are growing, and others have been substantially impacted by the effects of the pandemic. “We need to work on providing the resources and skilled employment base that will feed these industries,” says Sternberg.

So, what is the foundation that makes a business (of any size) strong in the first place? It’s the people. The right people with the right skills, powering your business. People who aren’t being held back by barriers, including a lack of child care or a lack of workplace experience.

The Boulder Chamber is proud to pioneer programs that provide equitable opportunities for everyone, from kindergarten through retirement, to be trained in the skills necessary for the jobs available in our Boulder community, spanning our diverse industries. These programs serve as a launching pad for future job success — and as a result, a more developed workforce supporting stronger businesses and a vital economy.

Apprenticeships in the most needed positions One of the most requested positions in the healthcare industry that is not getting filled right now is for medical assistants. So we sponsored a program in partnership with Front Range Community College and Workforce Boulder County to create a community-wide model

for training in this high-demand career pathway. Multiple healthcare providers can tap into this training opportunity at once, without doing the legwork of starting an apprenticeship program on their own. It makes it easier on our training providers, too!

Inspired by the success of this program, we’ve expanded to include a sterile processing apprenticeship, and will soon be offering surgical technician and bioscience manufacturing technician apprenticeships as well. These apprenticeships will also serve as a framework for apprenticeship programs in other industries to follow, including IT / tech.

Work-based opportunities to prepare the rising workforce

Recognizing that tomorrow’s leaders will be instrumental in rebuilding and sustaining our workforce and economy in a post-pandemic world, we’ve expanded our Careerwise youth apprenticeship offerings, as well as other K-12 work-based learning programs, to facilitate the connections between businesses and students in our local school districts. From externship programs and job shadowing to micro-internships and business projects, we aim to prepare students with opportunities and educational experiences that will set them up for job success.

“There are dozens of pathways in which a business can employ a youth apprentice in their junior or senior year for a 2- or 3-year model apprenticeship, allowing them to learn while they earn,” explains Corine Waldau, Senior Director of Economic Vitality. These opportunities help our youth attain lifelong career skills while in high school, replace some of their coursework with time on the job, and earn money in the process.

And for local businesses, it gets young people excited about your business and helps you retain them — because you’ve invested in their skills development, you’ve invested in their education, and you’ve invested in them. Skills on the job can be more valuable than skills learned in the classroom, and our hope is that local businesses like yours help guide that skills development.

Giving local restaurants (and young workers) a boost

Restaurants across the country have been struggling to fulfill their staffing needs as a result of the pandemic. You may have noticed that Boulder is no different, facing a widespread shortage of restaurant workers. “You’ll see tables closed at restaurants because they don’t have enough servers to fill the spots,” says Waldau. They are seeing an incredibly high turnover rate, with some restaurants bringing in as many as 30 new employees each month.

We put our heads together to create community-wide solutions, spearheaded by industry, that would decrease the stress of training these new workers on Boulder restaurants. Our Restaurant Bootcamp for 16-24 year-olds provides regular training in the baseline skills that workers need to enter the hospitality industry. Prepared with knowledge of restaurant and essential customer service skills, this baseline level of training lessens the burden of additional training for each restaurant. For our youth, the program exposes them to the hospitality industry and provides transferable skills for their future career pathways.

Providing work-based learning opportunities for college students

College students today are graduating and entering a very different workforce from one we’ve ever seen before. In an effort to better prepare graduates for their careers, we partnered with CU Boulder and Front Range Community College on an initiative to expand local online work-based learning opportunities. A major focus of this effort is providing comprehensive support and stipends for first-generation students to participate in these micro-internships and business projects. The more we can support college students today in developing on-the-job skills, the better prepared they will be for successful careers.

Promoting skills-based hiring practices

Last time you posted a job position for your business, did you ask the question, “Why am I hiring this person? What are the baseline skills they must have when they’re hired, and what can we train them on?” If not, you may be closing doors for candidates who may be a great fit for your position and business.

When you identify the baseline, essential, foundational skills needed for the job, you can center your hiring, interviewing, onboarding, and retaining practices based on exactly that. The other, more technical skills can be attained on the job or through one of our local training programs. Businesses in the region, including aerospace, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, and non-profit organizations, are using the information acquired during these training sessions to transform pieces of their hiring practices and create skills-based hiring cultures.

If you’re interested in being a more equitable employer and opening your posting to more candidates, skills-based hiring is for you. As one of the top trainers in the state for this curriculum, we are here to help businesses like yours adopt these hiring practices. Please reach out with your interest and we will get you connected to training opportunities for you and your staff team.

Breaking down child care barriers

“Childcare is a front-and-center issue to our workforce, to employment, to business, and to our economy,” says Waldau. Exasperated by the pandemic, access to childcare has become increasingly more expensive and challenging for workers, particularly among low-income and BIPOC populations. In 2021, we partnered with the YMCA to advocate for their childcare facility investment. We will also be considering other program opportunities in the year ahead that help expand work-based childcare service options. It’s all a step forward in finding community-wide solutions to the childcare barriers that make jobs inaccessible for everyone.

A stronger workforce on the horizon

Collaboration is key to developing our Boulder workforce. “None of us are going to be able to do this alone. We need to do this together as a community,” says Waldau. It will take innovative and creative solutions, and all of us working together, to revitalize and reinvigorate the Boulder workforce during these times of high stress and exacerbating issues. We must turn to each other to develop our workforce and ultimately, power your business towards success — and build a vital economic environment for other businesses of all sizes, scales, and scopes to succeed.

When we talk about economic vitality, we’re talking about retaining our industries, recruiting new companies that fit within these industries, and helping existing businesses survive and thrive. Sternberg sums it up: “A vital economy provides the services and cultural foundation on which our businesses and residents flourish.” All Boulder businesses are vital — to the quality of life we enjoy and for all of the great aspects of our community that we celebrate in Boulder — and we’re here to help your business succeed.

Scott Sternberg Executive Director, Boulder Economic Council and Associate Vice President for Economic Vitality | scott.sternberg@ bouldechamber.com

Corine Waldau Senior Director of Economic Vitality |corine.waldau@ boulderchamber.com

The Boulder Chamber works with members in small businesses, entrepreneurs, corporations, CU and non profits in business! They are IN the community! The Boulder Chamber represents the members and its businesses by supporting, educating, and informing businesses of what's happening Boulder in order for businesses to thrive economically in the community.

Nancy Chin-Wagner | Networking with a Purpose| BOULDER CHAMBER Member