When CEOs and senior leaders from across Greater Green Bay came together, the conversation quickly moved beyond today’s job openings. The bigger question became: What will it take to build the workforce our region needs five, ten and twenty years from now?

This was the question at the center of a recent Greater Green Bay Chamber CEO Circles conversation. Leaders discussed everything from skilled talent and artificial intelligence to housing, transportation and the changing expectations of younger professionals.

What emerged was a picture of a labor market undergoing significant change and a strong sense that talent development can no longer be separated from economic growth.

Skilled talent remains a critical need

The demand for skilled labor continues to be significant. Employers identified welders, electricians, mechanical talent and machine operators among their most difficult positions to fill.

Companies are responding by investing more heavily in apprenticeships, internal training and upskilling existing employees rather than waiting for fully trained workers to enter the market. Participants also expressed positive sentiment about training opportunities available through NEWMA and the value of industry collaboration.

Competition for skilled workers increasingly extends beyond Greater Green Bay. Data center development elsewhere in Wisconsin, for example, is creating additional demand for electricians and putting pressure on an already constrained talent pool.  But technical proficiency is only part of what employers need.

Two skills gaps were mentioned repeatedly: Math and critical thinking. As manufacturing becomes increasingly automated and technology-driven, employees need the ability to understand systems, solve problems and adapt; not simply perform a single technical task.

The “silver tsunami” is becoming very real

One of the significant concerns expressed by leaders was the approaching retirement of long-tenured employees.  These individuals often possess decades of institutional knowledge that isn’t written in an operating manual. When they leave, companies aren’t simply losing an employee. They may lose relationships, processes, historical knowledge and expertise developed over years.

That makes succession planning and knowledge transfer increasingly important. Businesses need to begin these conversations well before a retirement announcement.

The same principle applies at the ownership level. With many companies operating multiple businesses under a broader organizational umbrella, succession can become increasingly complex. Helping business owners think earlier about leadership transitions, ownership structures and continuity will be important to preserving strong companies and local decision-making in Greater Green Bay.

The conversation also touched on the changing ownership landscape, including private equity investment and what it can mean when company leadership and decision-making are located outside the region.

Younger professionals are changing the employee value proposition

Leaders also discussed a noticeable shift in how younger employees approach their careers.  The traditional expectation that someone might spend decades with one employer is increasingly uncommon. Participants described seeing younger professionals remain with companies for roughly three to five years before looking for their next opportunity.

There was also discussion about employees pursuing advancement and titles more quickly than previous generations.  Perhaps more importantly, employers are seeing a shift in what workers value.

Traditional benefits built around long-term employment, and retirement may not carry the same weight they once did. Benefits that give employees more time back such as flexibility, vacation and other forms of time off can be particularly attractive.

These expectations create a new challenge for employers: Forgoing the traditional employment relationship from the past and retaining ambitious young professionals while also giving them meaningful opportunities to grow while meeting their expectations as an employee.

We have to reach the workforce of the future earlier

If Greater Green Bay wants more young people to pursue careers in manufacturing, construction, healthcare, technology and the skilled trades, waiting until their senior year of high school is too late.  Career awareness needs to begin earlier.

That is one reason the Chamber’s Find Your Inspiration (FYI) event is so important. By reaching students in eighth grade, before they enter high school, we can introduce them to careers available in Greater Green Bay for which they may never have considered. This serves to help them understand how the choices they make in high school directly connects to their future opportunities.

Employers have an important role to play in that process. Students need to see modern workplaces, meet people doing the work and understand that today’s manufacturing environment may involve robotics, automation, data, engineering and sophisticated technology, alongside traditional skilled trades.

Building the future workforce starts by helping young people see themselves in these careers.

Talent attraction is also about place

Recruiting someone to a company means recruiting them to a community. Housing remains a significant concern, particularly the availability and cost of homes for young professionals. Employers may successfully recruit someone to Greater Green Bay only to have that person struggle to find a home that fits their needs and budget.

This makes increasing housing supply and finding ways to accelerate residential development an economic competitiveness issue.  At the same time, Greater Green Bay must continue strengthening its “cool factor.” We need to build a community where talented people don’t simply accept a job, but actively want to live and build their lives.

Entertainment, amenities, neighborhoods, outdoor recreation, cultural experiences and opportunities to connect with other professionals all play an important role. The Chamber’s talent attraction and retention work will continue to focus beyond simply bringing people to the region, to giving them reasons to want to stay.

Transportation is becoming a workforce and business-growth issue

For some employers, freight transportation is a particular challenge. Greater Green Bay can function as an endpoint for trucking routes, making it difficult in some cases to secure full return loads and creating inefficiencies for companies moving products. But transportation is also a workforce issue.

There was significant interest in better understanding how public transportation could connect employees with major employment centers, particularly for workers who may not have reliable access to a vehicle.  As Greater Green Bay grows, the connection between where people live and where they work will become increasingly important.

AI is moving from conversation to full implementation

The discussion ended by looking ahead and artificial intelligence was an appropriate place to finish.

For our business leaders, AI is no longer simply an emerging technology to watch. Companies are beginning to explore practical applications that can improve everyday operations.

Examples shared included automating repetitive processes, training employees, building AI agents to answer frequently asked questions and using AI to identify trends and insights within ERP data.

The opportunity isn’t simply to replace tasks. It is to give employees better tools, improve productivity and allow people to spend more time on work requiring judgment, creativity and problem-solving.

Bringing the workforce conversation full circle.

The jobs may change. The technology certainly will. But Greater Green Bay’s competitive advantage will continue to depend on people who can think critically, solve problems, learn new skills and adapt to the evolving global economy.

The key take-away from the CEO Circles conversation was how interconnected these opportunities for our community have become.

Workforce is about education and career awareness. It is about apprenticeships and upskilling. It is about succession planning and knowledge transfer. It is about housing, transportation and quality of place. And increasingly, it is about helping businesses and employees adapt to rapidly changing technology.

There isn’t one program or organization that can solve all of these challenges.  But there is tremendous opportunity when employers, educators, municipalities and community partners work together.  The Chamber’s role is to continue bringing those voices together, listening closely to what businesses are experiencing and turning those conversations into action that produces measurable results. Because building the workforce of the future isn’t simply about filling today’s open positions.  It’s about making Greater Green Bay a place where businesses can grow, people can build meaningful careers, and the next generation wants to stay.