Paige Chastain joined the McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce staff in early 2017 as vice president of workplace development, a new position that is currently part-time. This was a strategic board initiative to respond to the needs of the business community to a survey conducted in February 2017. Highlights of the survey are as follows: A. 67 percent of employers were experiencing hiring difficulties.B. Of these, 41 percent viewed vacant positions as critical to their growth.C. Top needs are work experience, education and/ or training, and technical skills.D. 59 percent of the employers cited lack of dependability as the top soft skill lacking.E. 36 percent of employers reported using overtime to respond to the hiring difficulties.
Chamber aims to enhance local businesses