Workforce development can sound like a broad economic issue until you see what it looks like close to home. September is Workforce Development Month, an opportunity to recognize the work happening right here in Mesa County to build a stronger workforce and create meaningful pathways into our business community.
Here, that work takes many forms: an employer giving someone their first opportunity to learn on the job, an apprentice gaining skills alongside an experienced employee, or a business developing talent for a position that has been difficult to fill. It also happens when employers and workforce partners come together to identify what businesses need and find practical ways to meet those needs.
For the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, workforce development is not simply about filling today’s open positions. It is an investment in the long-term strength of our local economy. The Chamber has spent years working alongside local businesses and partners to turn that investment into action and increasingly, that work is producing measurable results.
Through West Slope Works, the Chamber’s regional work-based learning initiative, more than $230,000 has been allocated to support local employers, reaching 25 businesses to date. Earlier funding supported more than 7,000 hours of real-world learning, with 49% of participants hired following their experience.
Those numbers matter because behind them are businesses investing directly in people and people gaining skills, experience, and a clearer pathway into the workforce.
That work is now entering another phase.
As a Qualified Apprenticeship Intermediary, the Grand Junction Area Chamber is helping employers develop and expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs while making those opportunities more accessible to businesses. Current funding through West Slope Works can help eligible employers offset apprenticeship expenses such as mentor or journey worker wages, instructor costs, training supplies, and related program costs.
Recently, available funding increased to as much as $7,125 per eligible employer, creating another opportunity for local businesses to invest in developing talent rather than waiting for the right candidate to appear.
For years, employers across industries have talked about the difficulty of finding people with the right skills. Workforce development asks a different question:
What if we build those skills here?
Apprenticeships, internships, job shadows, on-the-job training, and other work-based learning experiences give employers an active role in developing talent around real business needs. They also give individuals an opportunity to understand an industry, gain practical experience, build relationships, and see a future for themselves in Mesa County.
The Grand Junction Chamber’s role extends beyond administering programs and funding. It is also about bringing the right people into the same conversation.
Earlier this summer, that approach drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Labor, which contacted the Grand Junction Chamber to learn more about Mesa County’s industry-led workforce efforts. During the visit, local employers, educators, workforce professionals, and policymakers discussed the challenges facing businesses and the importance of solutions shaped by the industries that ultimately employ our workforce.
That national interest reinforced something we already know locally: the strength of Mesa County’s approach is the network behind it. No single program, organization, school, or employer can solve workforce challenges alone.
When employers communicate what they need, educators and workforce partners can better understand where skills gaps exist. When funding reaches businesses, employers have more capacity to train. When individuals gain meaningful experience inside local companies, career pathways become tangible rather than theoretical.
And when those pieces work together, workforce development becomes more than a program. It becomes economic infrastructure.
There is still work ahead. Talent needs will continue to change, industries will evolve, and businesses will face new challenges in attracting and retaining employees. The Grand Junction Chamber’s role is to continue listening to employers, convening partners, bringing resources to Western Colorado, and helping turn those challenges into practical solutions.
Workforce Development Month gives us an opportunity to celebrate that work and reminds us to keep building it, right here in Mesa County.