Chamber, Visitors Bureau focus on workforce needs | News, Sports, Jobs
As local businesses of all types and sizes continue to cite concerns about hiring and retaining employees, both the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau are taking steps to address the issue. The two organizations will hold back-to-back events in March aimed at helping local businesses find and keep personnel.
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce will present an online Tuesday Talks panel discussion at 8:30am, Tuesday, March 21. Guest panelists are Nate Aldrich, Economic Development Coordinator, Chautauqua County; Katie Geise, Workforce Investment Board/Chautauqua Works; Brian Lebarron, Jamestown Community College Workforce Development; and Julie Page, Jamestown Community College Career Services. Panelists will touch on the overall job market and workforce status including broad efforts to recruit and retain employees across Chautauqua County. Tuesday Talks is a one-hour, online-only forum to provide tips and guidance for local businesspeople. All attendees must register through the Chamber’s web calendar at www.chautauquachamber.org/events to get the Zoom link. Tuesday Talks is free and open to all local businesses, whether they are Chamber members or not.
The Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau will hold a free Spring Tourism Workshop from 8:30am to noon, Thursday, March 23 in the Carnahan Center at Jamestown Community College on Ramping Up for Seasonal Hiring. Speakers for this morning-long in person event will be Kelly Borrello, owner of Cabana Sam’s/Sunset Bay Beach Club; William Hart Frantz, Sales Manager for Chautauqua Harbor Hotel; and a panel from Chautauqua Works led by Geise and including representatives from the New York State Department of Labor. To register for the CCVB workshop visit them online at www.tourchautauqua.com/spring-2023-tourism-workshop.
Andrew Nixon, President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau noted, “Our members frequently cite filling open positions as one of their biggest challenges. In collaboration with our Board of Directors, the Small Business Development Center, and the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, we think addressing seasonal hiring and training with a strong slate of experienced speakers will have a beneficial impact on the local tourism industry hiring scene for the coming summer.”
Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Daniel Heitzenrater added, “If you ask any business what their top challenges currently are, nearly every business names employee recruitment in the top few. We’re excited to offer our Tuesday Talks session to broadly cover these topics and encourage businesses to participate in the CCVB training Thursday, which will provide a deep dive of information and advice specific to seasonal hiring and hospitality related business.”
Both the Chamber and CCVB events are being held in conjunction with the Small Business Development Center at JCC.
Small Business Development Center Executive Director Courtney Curatolo said, “Small businesses are the backbone of the economy in our region and recruiting and retaining employees are critical issues to many of the business owners we work with. It is also important to work with all the resources we have in our community in order to help small businesses with their human resource needs. By partnering with the CCVB and the Chamber we hope to help spread the knowledge of how to recruit, train, and retain full time and part time employees.”
