In March, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce held the first Industry Insights Roundtable sessions, a series designed to ignite pivotal conversations to propel industries forward and cultivate a deeper understanding of the challenges, resources and opportunities within our local business landscape.
Bringing together diverse voices from across Mesa County’s business community, the roundtables have served as catalysts for meaningful engagement and collaboration. Harnessing the perspectives shared during open discussions and feedback collected from individual surveys, the sessions have generated comprehensive insights on industry needs and pathways for future growth and innovation.
Designed to be more than just meetings, the Grand Junction Chamber has identified industry-specific takeaways and action items, summarized below.
Restaurant/Retail
Demand for restaurants and retail services remains strong locally. Difficulty lies in finding an adequate workforce to service this demand and remaining profitable despite rising labor and supply costs.
Workforce Priorities:
- More streamlined methods for hiring
- Fostering a sense of ownership among employees
- Investment in workplace culture, continuing education
Growth Priorities:
- Determining when a business is ready to grow
- How can business owners best leverage existing resources
Action Items: The Chamber will work to develop a “guide to growth and expansion” for businesses considering such activities.
Manufacturing
As one of the largest providers of primary jobs in the area, manufacturers are feeling the particularly harmful effects of rising housing costs and a lack of skilled workers in Grand Junction.
Workforce Priorities:
- The ability to provide healthcare to employees
- The involvement of employees in strategic planning and decision making to provide pathways to advancement and investment in company culture
- Partnerships with CMU and CMU Tech as well as the Workforce Innovation Project
Growth Priorities:
- Limiting the proliferation of additional state and federal regulations
- Grand Junction must construct more workforce housing for these companies to attract and retain employees
- Smaller companies need the ability to access capital
Action Items: The Chamber will work to explore creating a “How It’s Made Day” to include field trips to manufacturers in the Fall. We will also explore heath care benefit options that are more affordable for our largest employers.
Construction
Demand for construction companies and workers remains high in the industry. The biggest challenges are hiring enough workers with the right skills and attitude to do the job while also trying to change the stigma about the industry itself.
Workforce Priorities:
- Better working environments, more flexibility for time off, the ability for company advancement
- More emphasis on the creation of construction apprenticeships
- The ability for employees to feel they are achieving personal growth
Growth Priorities:
- The ability to increase the amount of available work in Grand Junction and the direct surrounding areas
- The financial ability to withstand the supply chain price increases on key items needed to do a job
- The construction of more affordable workforce housing for companies to retain and attract employees
Action Items: The Chamber will explore ways to shift the narrative around industry stereotypes to increase support for sector jobs from adults and mentors.
Professional Services
Greatly impacted by growth in other industries, the professional services industry is performing well, but fewer and fewer college graduates are equipped with the hard and soft skills necessary for the large number of open positions.
Workforce Priorities:
- Sparking an interest in specific topics, specifically accounting
- Shifting job duties to better align with the values of younger workers (PTO, flexible/remote work, work-life balance)
- Seeking out employees in unconventional ways, thinking outside of the box
Growth Priorities:
- Limiting the proliferation of additional state and federal regulations
- Better transportation options to other parts of the country/world
- Finding areas of support for creating internship opportunities
Action Items: In relation to state-level regulatory and compliance requirements, the Chamber will work to develop a “Colorado Government 101” session for businesses to learn how to engage.