The Pima County One-Stop Career Center, an initiative aimed at strengthening Southern Arizona's workforce, leans on some whimsical advice to inspire its mission: "The best way to predict the future is to create it," Cheryl Bakari, who oversees its adult services, quoted Big Bird during the annual Pima County State of the Workforce breakfast, as reported by the Pima County official website.
The event took place on September 25 at the DoubleTree by Hilton at Reid Park, where leaders from the government, education, business, and nonprofit sectors gathered to not only enjoy a meal but also to actively discuss and plan proactive strategies to bolster the local economy through workforce development. Heath Vescovi-Chiordi, the director of Pima County Economic Development, emphasized the significance of these collaborative efforts and how they directly impact the community. According to Vescovi-Chiordi in a statement obtained by Pima County, "It was amazing to see workforce and economic development partners come together to focus on the workforce and how it affects our community."
Rhonda Piña, Pima County's deputy director of Community & Workforce Development (CWD), highlighted the synergy between different sectors in the region. She mentioned how the assortment of programs and partners collectively contributed to an expanding workforce development ecosystem. "The workforce development ecosystem is an expansive group of partners doing great things in their own programs, but also working with other partners to make the most of the available resources," Piña told Pima County.
During the panel discussions, Vescovi-Chiordi detailed Pima County's collaborations with educational institutions such as high schools, Pima Community College, and the University of Arizona, with a clear focus on adequately filling positions in industries facing high demand, including manufacturing and construction. Meanwhile, Nicole Scott, program manager for Pima Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS), touched on the need to view childcare as a core component of workforce infrastructure, acknowledging the pragmatic necessity to ensure the availability of quality preschool education for all. "Without children, we don’t have a future workforce," Scott explained in an interview with Pima County.
Local success stories were brought to light by CWD's Daphanie Conner and Gabriel Lopez, who delved into initiatives for youth employment and veteran workforce support. The Kino Veterans Workforce Center, managed by Lopez, assists veterans not just find jobs but in navigating the available resources to maintain their employment, a testament to the comprehensive services delivered by the CWD. Conner proudly stated in her remarks to Pima County, "Everybody that walks through our door is a success because sometimes that takes everything they have."
Additionally, the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity shared encouraging statistics, with Pima County's unemployment rate dropping as low as 3.3% between May and June, a near 17-year low. Pima County has also observed burgeoning job growth, adding an estimated 10,000 new positions annually, which further cements its trajectory toward becoming a robust economic hub in Arizona. Piña affirmed the county's potential, concluding, "Pima County is in a position to be a strong economic region through collaboration to maximize resources that, in turn, generates and increases a skilled workforce for employers and sustainable, livable wages for job seekers."
