BizWORKFORCE

Amber Smith

Ian Roark Cristie Street Michael Guymon

Blueprint for Prosperity

Tucson Metro Chamber Issues Plan to Develop Workforce, Fight Poverty

By Loni Nannini

An effort to provide the talented workforce that local employers need while lifting people out of poverty has led to a template for Tucson’s prosperity.

The Tucson Metro Chamber created the Workforce Development Blueprint in conjunction with private and public partners, nonprofit organizations and government.

The blueprint’s five strategies highlight short- and long-term initiatives in education, industry and community leadership for employers and employees, according to Amber Smith, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber.

“Our goals with these Workforce Development Strategies are: one, to grow the talent employers seek to enable them to fill positions for companies in the community now and in the future, and two, to provide a stronger skill set for those lacking skills who are living in poverty – ultimately resulting in a healthier community,” said Smith.

The plan, which relies on data collected over the last 18 months by the Partnership for Workforce Innovation, was developed with support from Chamber membership, along with partners and sponsors including Tucson Medical Center, Pima Association of Governments, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, City of Tucson and Pima County.

The effort marks collaboration by numerous local and regional businesses, educational institutions and community leaders to ensure that Tucson remains competitive in the rapidly changing labor market.

“The topic of workforce development is very complex,” said Ian Roark, Pima Community College’s VP of workforce development and strategic partnerships. “It is an ecosystem of ecosystems, and the Tucson Metro Chamber plays an important role of being a convener and

“The more we can do as a community to make sure we are growing and attracting the skills our community needs, the more we will succeed.”

– Michael Guymon VP Tucson Metro Chamber

aggregator of industry for businesses of all sizes in our region. This blueprint allows us to focus on key workforce development initiatives – many of which are underway and some of which are new – as we enter into a time of re-skilling and recovery post-pandemic.”

Roark emphasized the need for innovation as the Chamber seeks to execute the plan during the next three to five years.

“Oftentimes the programs and solutions implemented in the past to address workforce development aren’t the ones that will work now,” he said. “We are seeing that play out in the paradox of the vast number of jobs posted and the vast numbers of people who are not employed and the difficulty in connecting the right people to the right jobs.”

Strategy 1

Employers, educators and business organizations in the greater Tucson region should consistently support innovative education/industry partnerships, including a system of high-quality career and technical education aligned to the needs of the business community. The skills developed through universities, community colleges and training providers should match the skills needed by our companies.

The University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Pima Community College and Carrington College, along with small colleges, trade schools and education partners play key roles here.

They answer the call for innovative and flexible training programs that include information technology and continued on page 106 >>>

continued from page 104 cybersecurity, applied technologies in automotive and aviation, health and veterinary care, and criminal justice and public safety. Programs also address advanced manufacturing skills – which include computer-aided design, machining and welding.

“PCC and other institutions have the responsibility to meet the workforce development needs of the community at scale,” Roark said. “The PCC Centers of Excellence at campuses throughout the city are that type of scale. These certificate-level and associate degree programs are aligned to standards of business and industry at all sectors – and in this environment, we have to deliver these programs in new and different ways to meet post-pandemic challenges.”

He emphasized that PCC is developing more apprenticeships, work-based learning, micro-pathways and customized training programs for employers; these flexible re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities are tailored to meet the needs of employees and students alike.

“At PCC we call them ‘new majority learners.’ These are people who don’t have the time or resources to be fulltime students and want to advance in their careers while they are working,” said Roark.

Strategy 2

A collaborative of regional employers and stakeholders should fund and launch the Tucson Move IT Up initiative. IT and cybersecurity skills are needed at hospitals just as much as they are needed in aerospace and defense, stressing the need for our region to make an accelerated push toward developing these important skills.

“Every career in modern business has some interaction with IT, so we all need to be stakeholders in promotion of technology literacy,” said Cristie Street, founder and CEO of Nextrio. The provider of IT services is a Chamber member and supported the blueprint.

Street said a shortage of skilled labor over the past 10 years forced employers to adopt increased automation to supplement the workforce. That, in turn, increased the need for highly skilled employees.

She views the blueprint strategies as a combination of elbow grease and execution – a way to develop the pipeline that will funnel highly skilled employees into the region, which is key to building prosperity.

“We have so many unique resources and differentiators here – from an amazing education ecosystem and a growing population of indigenous and native language speakers to first-generation graduates from secondary education who want to stay close to home to establish their careers,” she said. “That willingness to stay in Arizona predated COVID, and now all the open space makes us even more attractive. There is also demonstrable proof that technical careers help folks build wealth – and keeping that wealth here means progress for the entire community.”

“There is demonstrable proof that technical careers help folks build wealth – and keeping that wealth here means progress for the entire community.”

– Cristie Street Founder & CEO Nextrio

Strategy 3

The Tucson Metro Chamber, in conjunction with the City of Tucson and Pima County, should establish the Tucson Employer Development program – an education and outreach program that provides resources, training and certification to the region’s employers. We plan to award those companies who have implemented internships, tuition reimbursement and other programs that provide work-based learning opportunities.

“We need to identify companies that have the best practices with work-based learning programs and offer recommendations so others can follow suit,” said Michael Guymon, Chamber VP.

Strategy 4

The greater Tucson region should make efforts to effectively highlight career opportunities in the region to attract high-level talent in critical industries. Our partnerships with Tucson Young Professionals, Sun Corridor Inc., Visit Tucson and StartUp Tucson will be further developed to create and manage talent attraction campaigns.

Guymon stressed the need for Tucson to aggressively attract talent. “Decisions about whether companies are looking to expand or relocate – and whether companies that have been here for 100 years will continue to thrive – hinge on their ability to hire skilled individuals. The more we can do as a community to make sure we are growing and attracting the skills our community needs, the more we will succeed. This is an extremely important issue to the economic vitality of Tucson.”

Strategy 5

The Greater Tucson Career Literacy Initiative should organize business and community leaders to bring information, connections and exposure related to high-quality careers into Pima County’s classrooms. The Center for the Future of Arizona has created career pathways in a number of industries and students will benefit greatly by having a better understanding of what the pathway looks like for their desired careers.

“There are lots of career options out there, and working with educational partners at every level and nonprofit partners such as Center for the Future of Arizona and CommunityShare are examples of the collaborations we need to really move the needle,” said Guymon.

Plans for the blueprint include regular review to stay on track toward hitting goals, said Smith from the Chamber. The Chamber is developing metrics that will be reviewed bi-annually by a Professional Pursuits Steering Committee comprised of a cross-section of stakeholders. The committee will track progress and revisit strategies in the ever-evolving environment.

“There are efforts in our community that fall under each of these five strategies,” Smith said. “We want to highlight those that have a current impact and grow their exposure while implementing new ideas. Together with our stakeholders, we are dedicated to making short-term improvements that deliver progress while keeping an eye on sustainable long-term changes that will have lasting effects for our region.”