Making the Business Case for Early Childhood Development and Childcare as Workforce Issues

Last week during the Billings Chamber’s first Chamber A.M. event we hosted two phenomenal speakers introducing early childhood development and childcare as issues impacting workforce development.

Julia Barfield with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Education and Workforce presented the compelling case for childcare to be considered an issue greatly impacting businesses. You can learn more by reviewing her presentation here.

Following Julia’s presentation, Ben Horowitz with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis presented on the neuroscience behind the demand for quality early childcare as well as the economic case for investing in early childhood development. You can explore his slides by clicking here.

What does this mean for the Billings Chamber? We’re shining a spotlight on this issue and ready to learn from you, our member business, about how childcare impacts your business today. We’re learning all we can about the issue, determining how we can support needs at the legislative level ahead of the 2021 Session, and identifying ways we as a chamber of commerce may be able to create solutions.

If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved with the Billings Chamber’s work around early childhood development and childcare, email Kelly McCandless at kelly@billingschamber.com.