From Risk to Resilience: How West Michigan’s Leaders Are Future-Proofing Their Workforce
June 12, 2025

From Risk to Resilience: How West Michigan’s Leaders Are Future-Proofing Their Workforce

By Kevin Stotts, President of TalentFirst  The numbers are clear, and the stakes are high. Nearly...
Timely Message

An Evening of Insight, Connection & Possibility

West Michigan employers, educators, and community leaders are invited to join a dynamic evening exploring how MiCareerCompass is transforming the way we connect jobseekers to opportunity.
Main Message

Making West Michigan a leading region for talent

Our CEO Council drives workforce innovation, strengthening the regional talent supply chain.
Our Impact

Build Your Workforce with MiCareerCompass

Need talent? We've got you covered. This AI-driven platform connects employers with a pipeline of high-potential candidates — whether you need job-ready talent or candidates primed for your internal development programs.
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Illuminate. Evaluate. Advocate.

TalentFirst is a catalyst working to ensure an ongoing supply of world-class talent for West Michigan. Composed of over 100 CEOs from the region, TalentFirst illuminates gaps, evaluates leading practices, and advocates for the implementation of those leading practices to make West Michigan a top 20% employment region.

Unmatched Collaboration for Regional Impact

TalentFirst serves 13 counties in West Michigan, engaging the industries, businesses, and nonprofit and educational institutions of each county. We chose this region — Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola and Ottawa counties — because it provides the talent pool from which local employers employ 83.6 percent of their workforce. We convene stakeholders from across sectors and facilitate efficient and effective collaboration.

Our Members

TalentFirst’s membership represents an array of the region’s business, educational, and civic leaders — a group as diverse as the region we serve. Together, they are a powerful force for meeting the talent demand of today and tomorrow. 

Our Insights

By Kevin Stotts, President of TalentFirst   The numbers are clear, and the stakes are high. Nearly one in four workers in our region is...

Two young students in foreground are reading books at a table in a library. Another student is in the background.

TalentFirst has announced the 2025 winners of its Literacy Leader Awards: six West Michigan elementary schools whose excellence in reading instruction and accomplishment will be...

Children with books seated on risers, teacher at front.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Grand Rapids, MI (February 10, 2025) — An alliance of business, K-12 and teaching-college leaders today announced an unprecedented agreement to increase...