In November the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its Annual Economic Summit at Lane Community College to provide business leaders with a snapshot of how the Eugene, regional, state, and national economy is faring and what that means for local businesses.
Michael Dunne, host of KLCC’s Oregon On The Record, moderated a panel discussion titled: Community College’s Role in Talent Development
The Panelists were:
· Grant Mathews and Justin Chin, instructors at Lane Community College
· Jesse Quinn of Lane Workforce Partnership
· Gail Kiles Krumenauer, an economist with the State of Oregon
· University of Oregon Professor, Tim Duy
· Sabrina Parsons, CEO of Palo Alto Software
The panelists answered the following questions:
What is the economic value-add of having a higher education institution in the local area in terms of job creation, innovation, and attracting businesses?
Can we predict labor shortages and workforce needs? What are the challenges? What are the opportunities for community colleges to meet the needs?
How has the nature of work changed since the pandemic and what impact is that change having on community colleges and higher education in general?
We are a couple years out from the height of the pandemic. Are you seeing residual problems in recent graduates in the workforce, and if so, how can we help those affected "catch up”?
Why do you think community colleges uniquely meet the needs for talent by business and industry, nonprofits, and other organizations?
