workforce

Would you want to work at your startup?

You’ve built a fantastic product. But what about the workplace that goes with it? Big players like Uber, GitHub and SheThinx somehow missed that second part (although they did muddle through their nightmares of workplace harassment). Other startups, however, haven’t always been so lucky, even if they didn’t take it to the extreme of these companies. No entrepreneur wants to have the company where employees say, “Ugh, do I have to go to work again today?” Whenever a business owner asks me a question about hiring, I ask them this: “if the tables were turned, would you want to work [...]

By |2018-08-22T13:30:09-06:00August 22nd, 2018|

Are you Business Equality Leader certified?

There are several challenges employers face when recruiting new talent to Utah. Potential LGBTQ recruits may question if the Beehive State will truly welcome and embrace them. Equality Utah is the state’s premier LGBTQ advocacy organization. For seventeen years, we’ve been working to secure equal rights and protections for LGBTQ Utahns and their families. In 2015, we passed historic legislation to include LGBTQ residents in the state’s nondiscrimination employment and housing laws. We proved that, even in Utah, we can advance LGBTQ rights by finding common ground with our neighbors. We are here to bring that same spirit to Silicon [...]

By |2018-04-17T08:38:59-06:00April 17th, 2018|

From Utah’s Classrooms to Utah’s Workforce: Talent Development and Retention

      We all know how important a talented workforce is to the health of Utah’s businesses and overall economy. With the growth of Silicon Slopes, Utah industries are going to require more and more highly-skilled and highly educated workers in the coming years. Fortunately for us, Utah has a strong and vibrant system of higher education and technical colleges. Unfortunately, however, Utah is a net exporter of trained and educated talent. A recent analysis of census data shows that migrants coming to Utah from other states are less educated than Utahns leaving the state. Senate Bill 104, Talent [...]

By |2018-02-16T11:53:45-06:00February 16th, 2018|

Computer Science: Every Classroom, Every Age

  It was last October that I sat across from Aaron Skonnard, CEO of Pluralsight and former UTC board member, as he shared his vision for Utah’s educational future. The goal: computer science offered in every classroom at every age. As our economy changes, our education must change as well. Utah needs to invest in the digital future, to ensure that all our students have exposure to the skills desired in future workforces. Computer science is more than coding, it is creativity and innovation - problem solving through experience where the solutions are as unique as each individual student. For [...]

By |2018-01-31T13:49:10-06:00January 31st, 2018|