Talent is Currency In Economic Development

By Selena Sanchez, Director of Marketing & Communications for GJEP (Originally published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel – June 21, 2025) 

What makes someone choose a place? Not just to visit, but to stay and build their business, grow their career, or start a family.  

This is a question that lies at the heart of economic development. At the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, our team has the pleasure of connecting with companies across industries, sizes, and geographies, all exploring what it would mean to call our community home. 

There are always questions about factors including infrastructure and transportation, programs and incentives, and real estate, but this question always rises to the top: Can we find the talent we need to grow here and is this a place my employees would want to live?  

 

Talent is the Tipping Point 

Workforce availability is the biggest consideration for companies exploring sites for relocation and expansion. Many companies won’t move beyond initial research if there is uncertainty about a community’s available workforce.  

Here in Mesa County, we are not immune to today’s national and statewide workforce challenges. Colorado is seeing demographic shifts including declining birth rates, an aging population, and slower net migration than in past decades. These factors are putting downward pressure on workforce availability statewide, making employee attraction and retention increasingly difficult, particularly in specialized or high-level roles.  

If we want to increase our community’s competitiveness as we grow emerging industry clusters, then attracting, retaining, and cultivating talent must be at the forefront.  

 

Show Me Your Talent, and I’ll Show You Tomorrow 

 For companies seeking sites for development, it’s important to consider not only today’s available workforce but also paint a picture of who our emerging workforce will be. The presence of a young, skilled workforce offers a forecast of the region’s long-term potential. 

This is why local investments into talent development matter so much. From pre-K to post-graduate, partnerships between School District 51Colorado Mesa University and CMU Tech, Mesa County Workforce Center, and local employers build sustainable pipelines for homegrown talent. Organizations like the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce are also supporting talent through programs like the Mesa County Leadership Program, the Young Professionals Network, regional Talent Summits, and the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, creating spaces for connection, impactful conversations, growth, and leadership development.  

During the GJEP’s inaugural Site Selection Familiarization Tour and the Western Colorado Economic Summit a few short months ago, one of our visiting site selection professionals shared that many of his clients will specifically look at the 18–25-year-old age demographic when assessing a location for relocation/expansion. The presence and perspective of this key demographic provides insight into the availability of workforce, affordability, and quality of life for a region. 

 

Living Well Isn’t Just a Bonus, It’s a Strategy 

In terms of economic development and promoting the region, we talk about “quality of life” a lot. But what does this really mean? Quality of life goes beyond the picturesque landscapes and the community’s “cool factor”, although, these cannot be ignored! 

A recent survey conducted by Development Councilors International posed an open-ended question about what quality of life really means to talent.  For today’s workforce, affordable housing, reliable healthcare, competitive salaries, strong peer networks, and access to recreation and wellness are non-negotiable.  

Grand Junction offers a real advantage here, providing a slower place without sacrificing opportunities, a strong sense of community, top-tier healthcare providers, and a pretty stellar backdrop. It’s a place where you can grow your career, build a family, and experience true work/life balance.  

Being proactive about how we communicate this, both at an organizational level and as community ambassadors, is part of the equation when we consider how to best attract, retain, and grow talent in Mesa County.  

 

As Always…Collaboration is Key 

No single organization can solve economic and workforce challenges alone. Fortunately, we are a community that collaborates and the stories we tell ourselves and each other about the place we call home matter. These narratives shape our identity, perception, and ultimately our future. 

In true millennial fashion, I asked ChatGPT to summarize public sentiment about living in Grand Junction from sources like Reddit, local blogs, news, and forums. The highlights? Sunshine and outdoor lifestyle, relatively affordable living compared to other parts of the country, friendly community, and proximity to public lands.  

The drawbacks? There is less diversity and nightlife compared to larger cities like Denver or Boulder, concerns about homelessness, seasonal temperature extremes, and job market constraints in specialized industries.  

While we can’t do much about seasonal temperature swings, there are many community partners actively working on initiatives related to housing and social services including City of Grand Junction, City of Fruita, Mesa County, Hilltop Community Resources, Housing Resources of Western Colorado, United Way, Homeward Bound and many others. And at GJEP, we work to support economic diversification and job creation through proactive business recruitment and expansion efforts alongside our economic development partners.  

 

The Future is Here and It’s Ours to Shape 

Every community has its challenges, but how we talk about our place matters. Word-of-mouth remains one of the most powerful forces in shaping perception, making it more important than ever to lead with authenticity and share our true experiences of what it’s like living, working, and playing in the Grand Valley.  

Talent is the engine of economic growth, and our community already has what it takes to sustain a strong economy: a resilient workforce, a lifestyle that attracts talent, and a community that collaborates.  

And to keep attracting and retaining both businesses and talent, we must continue investing in our greatest asset: people. We must continue to tell the stories of our communities and its successes while being willing to shine a light on the tough subjects as we collaborate to face economic challenges head-on.  

If you are interested in learning how you can partner with us to impact the future of our community, please reach out to me by emailing selena@gjep.org

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