Weber State University has begun a series of gatherings focused on workforce challenges in Northern Utah.
The university recently hosted the first Northern Utah Employer Exchange, or NUEX, at its Ogden campus as a forum for employers, educators and community partners to identify and address critical workforce issues.
Unlike traditional conferences, NUEX functions more collaboratively, inviting participants to not just observe but actively seek solutions, the university said.
“The genesis for NUEX was really just this desire to listen to industry members,” said Shane Farver, director of special projects, marketing and communications at WSU’s Division of Online & Continuing Education (DOCE). “We wanted to show that we’re serious about understanding employers’ educational needs and desires. Industry talks, Weber listens.”
Approximately 40 employers from health care, aerospace, manufacturing, public service, small business and more worked through structured roundtable sessions to break down workplace challenges.
“A lot of companies came in describing turnover,” said Denise Call, business development manager at the DOCE. “But through the process, they discovered the root issue wasn’t turnover at all. It was culture. NUEX helped them see what they didn’t know they were looking for.”
Leaders from a variety of fields shared their perspectives and offered candid dialogue during panels.
Hannah Pierce, recruiting manager for Young Automotive Group, felt it was “beneficial to learn from other business partners and be connected with them” through NUEX.
“I can’t think of any other arena where I would’ve connected with the individuals I had the opportunity to meet,” Pierce said. “I think people sometimes get caught up in their specific industry and think no one in another industry could possibly relate. But, in reality, we realized our challenges are pretty shared. They may just translate differently.”
Since the gathering, organizers have been meeting one-on-one with employers to validate findings and further the conversation.
“NUEX is not a one-off,” Call said. “It’s just the beginning.”
The next step is applying this new knowledge.
“What I love about NUEX is that it opens up those conversations we don’t always get to have,” said Holly Suisse, business development manager at the DOCE. “We can bring that same information back to our faculty, so it actually impacts the classroom.”
As Weber State prepares for future NUEX events, organizers want to keep it adaptable and industry-led, showing that higher education is truly listening.
“That just goes to the heart of it, which is that the world is not prepackaged anymore,” Farver said. “Whatever we learn now will be different in a couple years or less, so that idea of continuous learning, of being able to adapt to industry and student needs, is going to become more and more important.”