Business Solutions Series: Build, Hire, Train & Retain Your Workforce

Local employers are invited to join a free, interactive workshop series focused on solving today’s workforce challenges, hiring, training, and retaining employees. Attend one session or all four, each stands on its own and is designed to give you practical strategies you can apply right away.

Whether you’re struggling to find reliable candidates, build entry-level talent, or upskill your current team, this series focuses on real solutions, not just programs. Learn how internships, on-the-job training, and employee development can help strengthen your workforce while reducing hiring risk and costs.

Lunch will be provided, generously sponsored by the Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority.

Sessions:

• May 28th: Building Your Future Workforce
• August 11th: Hiring with Confidence
• October 22nd: Training & Retaining Your Workforce
• December 8th: Understanding Your Local Workforce (Labor Market Data)

Info: Struggling to find reliable employees, especially at the entry level? You’re not alone. Many businesses are spending time and money trying to find the “right” candidate, only to face turnover, skill gaps, or a lack of long-term fit.

This session will introduce a different approach: building your workforce instead of waiting for it. Learn how internships and work experience can serve as a practical, low-risk way to bring in individuals with potential, develop their skills, and create a pipeline of future employees.

We’ll share insights on today’s workforce, what motivates them, and how mentorship and meaningful experience can lead to stronger retention. You’ll also hear from a local employer and participant who have successfully used this approach.

Come ready to reflect on your hiring needs and walk away with clear, actionable next steps to strengthen your team with support from SkillSource.

Info: The Hiring with Confidence Session focuses on helping businesses reduce hiring risk and costs through On-the-Job Training (OJT). Many employers face challenges finding qualified candidates, fear making the wrong hire, and absorb high onboarding costs. This session will show how you can build talent while lowering financial risk.

We’ll discuss current hiring challenges, explore the true cost of turnover, and hear a real employer success story using OJT. Through a short interactive exercise, you’ll identify roles that are difficult to fill and the skill gaps associated with them.

We’ll then walk through how OJT works in a simple, practical way, highlighting reimbursement and partnership support. By the end, you’ll be able to identify at least one role that could benefit from OJT and have the opportunity to connect with SkillSource for next steps.

Info: Training & Retaining Your Workforce Session focuses on helping businesses upskill their current employees to improve retention, performance, and overall productivity. Many employers face skill gaps within their workforce, leadership and supervisory challenges, and barriers when it comes to the cost of training. This session will show how investing in your team can reduce turnover, and that you don’t have to carry the cost alone.

We’ll start with a discussion on common team challenges, followed by a look at the true cost of not training, including turnover and lost productivity. You’ll hear a real employer example of how training made an impact, then participate in a short exercise to identify key skill gaps and training opportunities within your own team.

We’ll wrap up with a simple overview of how SkillSource can support training through funding and partnership. By the end, you’ll have identified a training need and have the opportunity to schedule a follow-up to explore next steps.

Info: Understanding Your Local Workforce Session focuses on helping businesses use local labor market insights to stay competitive and make informed hiring and retention decisions. Many employers face challenges understanding workforce trends, staying competitive with wages, and aligning hiring expectations with today’s labor market realities. This session will break down key local data in a simple, practical way so you can make more confident decisions for your business.

We’ll explore current workforce trends, including in-demand industries, wage data, and talent availability, and discuss what these insights mean for your hiring and retention strategies.

By the end, you’ll walk away with at least one actionable adjustment, whether it’s wages, hiring strategy, or role design and have the opportunity to connect with SkillSource for customized data and ongoing support.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

SkillSource, 234 North Mission Street, Wenatchee, United States

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