The Pikes Peak Workforce Center is offering up to $50,000 to retail and hospitality businesses to provide employee training opportunities. The deadline to apply for funding is May 25. Courtesy of Pikes Peak Workforce
Business owners operating food and beverage, tourism, or retail businesses in El Paso and Teller counties may be eligible for a new infusion of funding for employee training, courtesy of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center.
The center is offering up to $50,000 to qualifying businesses through a partnership with Walmart s Lives Empowered program and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. The funding must be used to help increase the competitiveness of employees and employers, according to a press release issued May 12, such as creating new training programs for employees.
Customers are returning to Colorado restaurants, bars, retail shops and other businesses, but they may not have anyone to take their order and serve them, help them find merchandise or take their payment.
That s because many businesses in the state s service sector are struggling to hire enough workers to handle the increased number of customers and sales now that many COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Business owners report they can t get anyone to respond to their job postings and help-wanted ads, let alone show up for an interview, accept a job and start working.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment adopted an emergency rule last week designed to push more people receiving unemployment benefits to return to the job market. The rule will cut off jobless benefits if applicants fail to show up for a scheduled interview or first day of work, which has become a growing problem.
Customers are returning to Colorado restaurants, bars, retail shops and other businesses, but they may not have anyone to take their order and serve them, help them find merchandise or
Shutterstock.com
The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought many changes in the workplace. It has decimated some businesses while increasing the demand for othersâ goods and services. It has highlighted weaknesses and inequalities and forced the adoption of new business models.
While businesses have been affected in many different ways, one thing is universal.
âThe pandemic has changed the way we do business for good,â said Aikta Marcoulier, executive director of the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center.
The
Business Journal asked Marcoulier and other business leaders to talk about the top five trends and challenges the pandemic has presented, and how some businesses have found better ways of doing business that will persist as we move forward toward recovery.