The Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce and the city of Cottonwood held the third installment in their Lunch and Learn series on Wednesday, July 19, at which members discussed small business resources and workforce development programs in Cottonwood and the Verde Valley.
Jamie Kerr, vice president of Rural Economic Development at the Arizona Commerce Authority, gave a presentation on the types of small businesses resources available to residents. He noted that Arizona is home to over 500,000 small businesses that play a large role in the state’s economy.
One of the programs that ACA offers for entrepreneurs and small business owners is the Arizona Small Business Boot Camp. This statewide initiative caters to those with fewer than 20 employees to help them prepare, plan and grow their businesses. They hold both virtual webinars and hands-on workshops in conjunction with community partners, and the ACA website offers online interactive resource guides for residents.
For those trying to grow an online business, the ACA has a Small Business Digital Academy, which helps business owners scale their online presence and build their digital capacity. They provide strategies for digital optimization in areas such as e-commerce, search engine optimization, social media management, website building and analytics.
Robert Garcia, a business strategy consultant from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, discussed workforce development. He argued for constant growth and urged attendees both to grow their businesses and to grow awareness of their businesses, and said that he wants everyone to have access to the same services no matter where they are in the state.
Garcia said that the office’s main model is Arizona at Work, a statewide workforce development network that helps employers recruit, develop and retain employees at no cost to the employer.
Its other programs include the incumbent worker program, on-the-job training, customized training, registered apprenticeships, reentry programs and the refugee program. The last is designed to aid refugees who are ready to join the workforce but need to overcome barriers such as language difficulties or transferring their credentials. This being Arizona, it was necessary for Garcia to discuss misconceptions about refugees; he pointed out that many have college educations.
Garcia further asserted that the OEO creates education pipelines by partnering with high schools, technology schools, universities and community colleges to provide talent assessment and screening through their Arizona Career Readiness Program and also offers career technical education training geared toward the local industry.
The OEO’s programs include those aimed at veterans, such as maintaining local veteran employment representatives and running a service transition assistance program. It also works with Skill Bridge, a Department of Defense program that creates apprenticeship opportunities for veterans.
On staffing retention, Garcia attributed ongoing difficulties to a changing culture and said that with the introduction of new techniques, employees will have a difficult time if they cannot understand the cultural changes. He pointed out that unlike previous generations, when holding a single job for one’s entire life was common, the current working generation is expected to average four or five jobs during their career.
Garcia went on to say that employee retention is based on treatment and that employees ages 30-50 are currently holding the workforce together. He recommended employers be nimble and flexible, especially in a city with a smaller population. For example, if a job posting asks for a specific number of years in a certain field and the recruiter gets no qualified applicants, they might want to ask instead for an applicant with a willingness to learn.
“Arizona is a magnet right now,” Garcia said.
The next Lunch and Learn session will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 20, and will discuss the city’s first economic development strategy.
