Opening Remarks and Speaker Highlights
On September 4th, 2025, business leaders, public partners, and workforce development professionals came together virtually to discuss the evolving tech talent landscape in Boulder. Hosted by the Boulder Chamber, the session provided an opportunity for participants to share insights on strategies for developing local talent and discuss the impact of emerging technologies like AI on the workforce.
The meeting opened with remarks from Joe Hovancak, VP of Economic Vitality at the Boulder Chamber, who highlighted the Chamber’s initiatives to support startups and strengthen the local tech ecosystem. Following this, Irhad Kozic, Sr Program Manager with the Boulder Small business Development Council (SBDC), provided an overview of SBDC’s programs to support small businesses. These include one-on-one advising, training programs, and tech-focused initiatives such as the Tech Source program. One highlighted program from Tech Source is their Boulder Tech Venture Accelerator (TVX), a 10-part in-person cohort series designed to help emerging companies overcome growth hurdles.
Learn about SBDC TechSource
Key Takeaways from the Roundtable
After hearing from the speakers, attendees participated in a virtual roundtable feedback session, beginning with live polling. Attendees were asked to rate the following statements from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)
- “We are engaging in internships, apprenticeships, or other training programs to develop tech talent.” – average 3.6 out of 5
- “We have a sufficient pipeline of qualified candidates for our tech roles in Boulder.” – average 3.4 out of 5
- “My workplace is more likely to invest in upskilling existing employees than hiring new talent.” – average 3.4 out of 5
Results reflected moderate confidence in the local talent pipeline, engagement in training programs, and investment in upskilling existing employees, and the results sparked further conversation that carried into the discussion groups.
Attendees also shared insights on the tech roles and skills expected to grow in the coming years. These responses fell into a few main buckets:
- Technical & Emerging Skills: AI, cybersecurity, prompt engineering
- Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving: innovation, strategy, analysis
- Adaptability & Collaboration: communication, change management, creativity
Breakout discussions allowed participants to dive deeper into these themes, exploring strategies to close skill gaps, strengthen workforce development initiatives, and prepare for the impact of emerging technologies like AI.
As a whole, the goal of the session was to foster cross-industry collaboration, combining the perspectives of employers, public partners, and workforce professionals with the purpose of building a stronger, more adaptable tech talent pipeline in Boulder.