Chamber and Partners Rollout Talent Development Plan

History was made this morning. Nearly 100 people gathered at the Embassy Suites to receive a briefing on and copies of the first-ever talent development plan for the Fort Collins-Loveland area.

When I talk with businesspeople in Northern Colorado two topics always come up: I-25 and workforce. Regarding the latter, the common message is that many local employers have challenges filling some positions. And they ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. As Baby Boomers continue to retire, the challenge will become more acute.

Last year community partners came together to tackle this issue. At the table were Mindy McCloughan, Loveland Chamber; various people from the City of Loveland Economic Development Office; Josh Birks and SeonAh Kendall, City of Fort Collins Economic Health Office; Joni Freidman, Larimer County Workforce Center; Jacob Castillo, Larimer County Economic Development Office; Andy Montgomery, Northern Colorado Economic Alliance; Gordon Thibedeau, United Way of Larimer County; and Ann Hutchison and David May, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce.

Together these organizations funded the hiring of a consulting team from T.I.P. Strategies.

Companies that helped underwrite some of the costs of this work were Advanced Energy, Woodward, Ed Carroll Motor Company, Pedersen Toyota-Volvo, Spradley Barr and Townsquare Media.

The product of months of work is a publication titled “TALENT 2.0: Regional Workforce Strategy, Fort Collins-Loveland Metro Area, February 2017.”

You can find resources from the event including the final report, the slide show and other resources here.

Here’s the bottom line: we have a workforce shortage that is going to get worse and we now have a plan to address it. Look over the plan and let us know where you want to participate.