KENT COUNTY, Del.- Another year brings with it similar challenges for county business leaders: help wanted. The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce (CDCC) held its 9th annual Economic Forecast Breakfast Tuesday, strategizing how to face their biggest challenges head on.
The annual breakfast was held at Maple Dale Country Club in Dover.
CDCC President, Dina Vendetti, said they've heard the same concerns for some time now.
"At the chamber we hear every single day about supply chain issues and we hear about workforce issues," said Vendetti. "Those are the two big things: I can't get the stuff I need and I can't get the people in my place to work."
David Boothe's company, "BIG Investment Service," sponsored the event. Boothe said a high demand for employment is not necessarily a bad thing.
"Employers need workers and they are having a hard time getting them so as long as there is this great demand for employment it's kind of hard to envision at least a bad recession," said Boothe. "We may still have a recession, or an earnings recession in corporate America, but it may be very mild if the employment picture continues to remain as strong as it is."
Executive director of the Kent Economic Partnership, Linda Parkowski, weighed in on the need for short-term certification programs. Those programs would help non-college educated folks enter the workforce.
Vendetti says a leader is needed to guide the way.
"We need somebody who will stand up and be the person who says okay you, potential employee, first you go here and get this short-term training and certificate and then do this apprenticeship to put them on a path to successful employment," said the CDCC President.
Officials from Delaware's Office of Management and Budget also spoke at the breakfast.
Boothe is urging the state's Joint Finance Committee to avoid political pressure during the budget approval process, which began on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
"You can't just get what you want all the time it leads to really bad things. Ask any American household that gets racked up with high credit card debt or in over their head on a mortgage, the same things apply on the governmental level," said Boothe. "You've got to show some discipline and you've got to slow your role a little bit and take a look at the bigger picture."
Kent Countians coming together to strategize navigating an unpredictable economy.
