Industry Highlight: ABC/WMC Addresses Construction’s Labor Shortage (Part 2)
In our most recent blog post, the Associated Builders and Contractors Western Michigan Chapter’s (ABC/WMC) explained how the labor shortage is impacting the construction sector. Norm Brady, Jen Schottke, and Aubrey Meikle explain how ABC/WMC is taking action to address this issue.
Report proposes solutions to poverty wages driving child care crisis
NEWS RELEASE: Grand Rapids, MI (October 19, 2023) In response to a two-decade decline in Michigan’s child care workforce, a new report lays the groundwork for a unifying wage scale to address a child care crisis aggravated by poverty-level wages that are driving early childhood educators away from the profession.
DEI: The Ethos of the New Workforce
We have all heard the proverb “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” by Thomas Reid. This proverb means that regardless of how strong the links in a chain are because if one link is weak that makes the entire chain weak. How does this proverb relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion […]
How to Build a Strong Employer Brand – and Put it to Work
Your brand as an employer is not just what you say it is. It’s how candidates — and current employees — actually experience your employee value proposition.
Making Michigan a Leader in Adult Postsecondary Attainment Starts Here
With the Midwest’s lowest percentage of adults having a postsecondary credential, Michigan faces multiple challenges — and has less than seven years — to add more than 431,000 credential-holding adults to its workforce.
Culture Must be Managed by Design, Not Default
On Thursday, September 28th, TalentFirst hosted the second gathering of our HR Council, comprised of West Michigan HR & Diversity strategy leaders, at the Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building in Grand Rapids. Tracy Brower, PhD, facilitated our learning and discussion focused on Workplace Culture Wins: How to create a culture of attraction, retention & performance.
New Dashboard Provides Tools to Tackle Michigan’s Early Literacy Crisis
With tests showing a continuing decline in early literacy in Michigan, TalentFirst has published an interactive dashboard documenting third-grade reading scores for nearly every elementary school in the state. The dashboard, publicly available here, incorporates data on the percentage of students who participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program, allowing comparisons of schools of similar […]
Learn 4 Key Steps to Attracting and Retaining Talent at Our Oct. 11 Event
Whether they know it or not, every employer has a reputation.
Employers Tap Diverse Talent Pools as Talent Solutions Series Returns
Finding qualified talent remains as challenging as ever. That’s no surprise to Michigan employers who have been recruiting in a market with only seven jobseekers for every 10 openings.
Continuing the Commitment to Cultivating Inclusive Workplaces Across West Michigan
West Michigan’s population is increasing in diversity across race and ethnic identities. Our region is expected to experience a 4% population growth (JPG) in the next 10 years gaining almost 36,000 Hispanic residents by 2033, which is more than double the amount of growth amongst white residents and nine times more than the growth amongst […]