Message from the President

BY MICHAEL J. QUARANTA

ANOTHER YEAR is now “in the books” and they just seem to rush by at the speed of light. As I reflect on 2021, it started where the previous year ended—with the pandemic burdening the economy, employers, and employees. This past year was also a time of economic healing for many businesses, although that “healing” has been an uneven experience. We at the State Chamber continued by providing high-level insights into the economy and the health challenges wrought by COVID-19. Throughout all of this, we needed a steady hand at the helm and clear thinking, so let me start by thanking Katie Wilkinson of Fulton Bank for her stewardship during her two-year term as chair. This was an unprecedented time in many respects, and her leadership, along with Scott Malfitano of CSC and Nick Lambrow of M&T Bank—who will serve as our chair for the next two years—were instrumental in helping guide our organization and the business community through some incredible challenges. Katie won’t speak of this, but I will—she was the first female chair of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce in its 185-year history. I am proud to have worked alongside you, Katie, and never saw a spec of light between your leadership and the people that preceded you. Thank you for your contributions to the State Chamber. The business community and state of Delaware appreciate all that you did.

As businesses reopened or regained their footing, we encountered another hurdle that was unprecedented in American history. Many Americans were leaving jobs or dropping out of the workforce at the very time employers were restarting or ramping up operations. Never had employers witnessed an economy where jobs were aplenty, pay was higher, and candidates were few and far between. Female labor participation hit a low not seen in 33 years as women stayed home to care for children who had no schools to attend and could not be left alone. While only a few child care facilities closed permanently, those that remained open had fewer staff and had to accept fewer kids because of student-teacher ratios.

Workforce training and development, a longtime State Chamber priority, emerged as the sentinel issue of the year and a topic we will work on for the foreseeable future. I mentioned the child care reality and its drag on employment. We are engaged in efforts to reimagine the quality of care, the profession itself, costs, and improved outcomes.

Despite these headwinds, I remain quite optimistic about 2022. We have before us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild the middle class by moving people from low-skill, low-wage positions and into technology, building trades, and health care professions, to name a few sectors with substantial employment shortages. This decade should not be remembered for the pandemic. Rather, I hope that we will look back one day and see that we seized the opportunity to train, retrain, upskill, and give employers the employees they need, and change the lives of thousands of Delawareans for the better.