Chamber Vision January and February 2018 | Page 23

Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
January and February 2018
23
of younger workers is diminishing side in the workplace. Each Chamber will also act as a link to
in comparison. generation has distinct attitude, where potential employees can
Mature workers—generally defined behavior, expectations, habits and learn where to apply for jobs in the
as workers over age 50 or 55—have motivational tendencies. Being Emporia Area.
experience and skills honed during aware of these differences can help. decades of employment. Retaining The Emporia Area Chamber will talented mature workers— work with businesses to learn more and recruiting new ones—is about generational diversity and simply good business for most how to bridge the gap and make organizations. their business more successful.
A recent study by Deloitte
and the Manufacturing
Institute predicts that “the U.S.
Manufacturing sector is likely
to suffer a shortfall of 2 million
workers by 2025. This is a marked
increase from the 6000,000 jobs
that went unfilled in 2011.
The Emporia Area Chamber will
focus on several areas related to
workforce development to assist
the business community in this
time of workforce shortages:
Addressing the skills gap:
The Emporia Area Chamber
will work with local educational
institutions and industries to
explore opportunities such as
apprenticeships; stackable credit
courses and creating pipelines
The workforce in the Emporia
Area must have affordable and
adequate housing available to
them. The Emporia Area Chamber
supports efforts that are being
made to increase housing to
Preparing employees to step up fit the needs of its current and
when leadership steps down: future citizens. Over the past
The Emporia Area Chamber is
geared to assist businesses with
leadership transitions. Providing
skills development in helping
aspiring leaders for their next
level of responsibility, by exposing
them to strategies to develop
their abilities to handle the most
daunting challenges.
The Emporia Area Chamber
is uniquely positioned to
offer Leadership training in
various shapes and forms. Skill
development for aspiring leaders,
departments and companies as
a whole. Consistent feedback
through one-on-one coaching, as
well as peer coaching is available to
between future employees and help businesses build their team.
business Emporia has jobs!: The Emporia
Bridging the generation gap: Area Chamber will develop
This is the first time in American company profiles for businesses in
history that we have four different our region and the skills needed to
generations working side-by- work with these companies. The
decade traditional developers
and construction lenders have
significantly decreased. The
Chamber, in conjunction with
cities and counties will need to
all work together with investors
to form financial and planned
growth support for future housing
development to occur.
Over the first quarter of the
2018 year, the Board of Directors
and the staff will get out and talk
to the members. This will be
done through surveys, roundtable
discussions and one-on-one visits.
By better understanding the needs
of our membership we will be able
to allocate the time of the staff to
develop and work on programming
for their benefit of the community.
Those findings will give direction
to the organization as we move
forward in Building Community
Through Business.