2024 brought a new approach to the workforce roundtables your Tucson Metro Chamber hosted. What once were meetings to connect resources to businesses has taken a new direction, a more solutions-based one. Let me tell you how it came to be.

We held two different listening sessions in the fall of 2023 for two sectors that critically impact Pima County’s economic growth. The first group had folks from the Mining industry, and the second group consisted of Healthcare representatives. The questions asked in each group were pretty straightforward. What are the current and future workforce needs? What are the current challenges? What are the barriers to a healthy, vibrant workforce?

What emerged was enlightening and encouraging. For mining, the issue has been branding. Painted as a “dirty” industry and not environmentally friendly, mining has taken hits as it tries to meet the demands for minerals. For healthcare, the issue has been the high demand for healthcare folks in a high-stress challenging market. It became apparent in both groups that collaboration was key in addressing these issues. Siloing was no longer an option.

In the first quarter of 2024, we had a plan for each of the roundtables. Bring industry leaders into the room and address the challenges head-on, together! Additionally, we invited educational reps and other business community folk to provide their insight as partners. For each, we started the conversation by sharing the challenges that were identified in the fall of 2023. Then together they began to offer potential solutions. Those potential solutions were jotted down and further fleshed out in the second quarter of 2024. 

And now? It’s go time!

Next month, we will be shaping these ideas into actual actionable items! These roundtables will become genuine workforce collaboratives. Industry leaders, educational reps, and other business community folks will share space to develop actual workforce strategies in overcoming the workforce challenges each sector faces. 

On August 20, the Mining & Construction Workforce Collaborative will collab on branding: branding for mining, and branding for construction. Attendees will be split into two groups to offer real solutions with real timelines to take real steps in rebranding mining and construction, respectively.

Then on August 21, the Healthcare and Health Science Workforce Collaborative will work together on (1) creating a preceptorship schedule that works for all major hospitals in our region, (2) developing a “matching” fair to better connect students to workforce opportunities, and (3) develop a mentorship program to better retain healthcare folks! Attendees will be split into three groups to work on solutions for each item.

We fully expect that in the first quarter of 2025, or sooner, that these ideas will become reality. And that together, we came up with solutions that created an environment in which our businesses thrive and our workforce community prospers! A space in which everyone wins!