Opening Doors with MiCareerCompass
By Kevin Stotts, President of TalentFirst At the Believe in Our City event in early September of 2025, I had the chance to share something that’s been quietly changing lives here in West Michigan: MiCareerCompass. First, I want to thank Doug and Maria DeVos and the entire team that made this event possible. They brought together an extraordinary group […]
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 one in four workers in our region is on the brink of retirement. For West Michigan employers, this isn’t just a talent gap—it’s a looming loss of critical knowledge, experience, and momentum. That’s why TalentFirst recently convened our CEO […]
These schools stand apart: Six elementaries earn Literacy Leader Awards
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 celebrated at ceremonies throughout March as part of National Reading Month. These schools serve as outstanding examples at a time when National Assessment of Educational Progress results place Michigan near […]
Announcing a Regional Agreement to Solve Early Literacy Crisis
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 West Michigan’s third-grade English Language Arts proficiency by 5% annually over the next three years. Led by TalentFirst, the partnership was forged to solve a decade-long crisis. In 2024, state […]
Why We’re Giving All Employers Access to Our Childcare Solutions
Successful business leaders don’t tolerate broken components of their operations. When a department fails to deliver, when costs overrun revenue, when a system breaks down? The boss demands solutions. Unfortunately, an essential component of Michigan’s economy — child care — has been broken for a long time. And it is in the best interest of […]
Work-Based Learning: The Key to Next-Generation Talent
Before joining Mercantile Bank a decade ago, Misti Stanton worked in education for 25 years. Today, as Mercantile’s Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Stanton uses her own career path as an example of the wide-ranging opportunities students can explore through work-based learning opportunities. “I didn’t go to school and say, ‘I want to […]
Award Highlights TalentFirst’s Contributions to Adult Education
Adult education — in all its forms — is a vital link to our economic and social well-being. It connects people to rewarding, good-paying jobs. It promotes productivity and reduces burdens on the social safety net. It provides generational benefits as parents model the value of education to their children. And it contributes to our […]
Taking a Team Approach To Foster Learning and Engagement
Most employers understand the benefits of breaking down the silos that isolate human resources from the rest of the organization. But few have managed to accomplish that. In surveys for its 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report, Deloitte found that 72% of respondents recognize the importance of shifting HR to a cross-functional discipline. But just […]
Addressing a Paradox of Better Pay: The ‘Benefits Cliff’
In values that have guided the company for decades, TalentFirst member Haworth puts the importance of its global workforce in writing: “We rely on our members.” That philosophy goes to work in multiple ways — as when, for example, a Haworth member was going to decline a promotion because the pay raise would make the […]
Inclusive Hiring Offers Solutions for Stability and Sourcing
Despite recent moderation of the hiring market, employers remain in need of consistently reliable sources of talent. Two opportunities in the coming weeks provide resources to meet that need for West Michigan employers. This is important because federal data released this month reveals a dilemma amid encouraging news in the employment market: Although U.S. job […]