Team Sprint To The Finish!

We officially have one month left until our final pitch to present our work throughout Impact Hub’s Workforce Development Accelerator! This is both exciting and nerve-racking, but we pushed hard this week to think realistically about what’s needed to get this project off the ground.

To inform our strategy and plans going forward, we spoke with individuals from Austin chambers, companies, and city representatives. We continue to make progress thanks to the help of mentors, and have a more clear understanding of what we have right and where our challenges lie.

What We Have Right

• There is consensus that a focus on soft skills is beneficial for all. Right now soft skills aren’t being taught well, or in a manner that is adaptable across individual learning styles and industries. Soft skills are crucial to unlocking innovative potential, and are necessary to both individual career development as well as company growth.
• Chambers are good resources for learning as well as potential sources of funding. Speaking to chambers helps us understand their needs as well as those of their members. They are also an efficient way to access local companies and individuals.

Challenges Ahead

• Language used in the field of workforce development is nonspecific and often confusing. Understanding what keywords resonate with companies, individuals, and cities is important from a sales and participation standpoint. However, it takes trial and error to decipher what language works best for different companies and individuals.
• Workforce development is inherently people-based, and as such requires people-to-people relationships. While these personal relationships are crucial to the success of our efforts, they take time to build and maintain.

Right now we are eager to continue meeting with key stakeholders and learning about how 3DS can best generate innovation in the workforce. Individuals equipped with entrepreneurial skills are more likely to be catalysts of change. We are working to democratize these skills for all those looking to level up in their careers.

Know someone involved in a chamber, representing an emerging city, or interested in developing company talent? Reach out at brianna@3daystartup.org so we can continue to build this project together!