Politicians, nonprofits, advocates and activists aren’t the only ones raising the alarm about housing and transportation. Boulder’s business community is getting in on the action, too.
The Boulder Chamber has launched Boulder Together to tackle the root causes of the biggest challenges for companies in the city: hiring. More than 123,000 jobs were available in Boulder County in 2017 and 2018, according to the Chamber. Just 20,000 people applied for them.
“The number one thing businesses say is freaking them out is they can’t hire the employees they need to fill the jobs,” said John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber. “That’s hurting them to keep the doors open or grow the business.”
Boulder’s high cost of housing forces workers into long commutes: 50,000 people travel into the city each day. Boulder Together has set an ambitious goal of doubling the number of rental units and homes for sale for low- and middle-income workers. The initiative will also advocate for increased funding for transportation infrastructure and options, with a specific focus on improvements to the Arapahoe and Diagonal corridors.
“We say these are business issues, but they are entirely community issues,” Tayer said. “Everything we are trying to achieve here is in balance with what our community says its values are: more diversity ethnically and socially and financially, and environmentally. We just can’t wait around for the city government to figure out what the solution is to this issue we have right now.
”The third prong of Boulder Together is workforce development. There are plenty of potential employees in the area, Tayer said — they just need some training, an apprenticeship or a shift in perspective.
“What does a music major have? Great math, great discipline. Skills that would make (them) a perfect candidate for a job,” Tayer said. “Veterans, disabled folks, the whole group of aging class folks: A little upskill, and they’ll be awesome to work in our community. “You can get a job in Boulder.”
