Mesa County hosts Western Region Talent Summit to strengthen local workforce

On Monday, May 12, Mesa County hosted the Western Region Talent Summit at the Mesa County Workforce Center, 512 29 ½ Road. This event was part of the statewide effort launched under the Regional Talent Summits Act (House Bill 24-1365), which is a new initiative aimed at tackling workforce shortages through regional collaboration and action planning.

The Western Region Summit brought together local leaders, employers, and industry experts from across ten counties: Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose, Ouray, Rio Blanco, and San Miguel. Hosted by the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce and led by the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the event focused on three key industries: construction, early childhood education, and healthcare.

“The summit was a space for honest, solutions-focused, regional conversations about the challenges facing Western Colorado,” says Workforce Center Director Heather Nara. “Industry leaders shared insights, identified opportunities and began shaping  workforce development strategies in collaboration with public partners.”

This event was one of seven regional summits happening across the state from February to June 2025. Each summit is guided by a Program Facilitator who prepares in-depth landscape analysis, helps facilitate the conversations and will assist in developing  regional workforce plans in partnership with Colorado’s Public Workforce System. These plans will be published later this year in the 2025 Colorado Talent Pipeline Report, offering a roadmap for tackling regional workforce challenges over the next five years. 

Summit outcome reports will be available by Fall 2025, and action teams will continue to drive this work forward with annual progress updates published through 2030.