October 2021

overlapping signs saying "now hiring" from all different places

The Talent Gap

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic noticeably impacted the national and local labor market across all industries, the health care, construction, manufacturing, and skilled labor markets were feeling the strain of locating and hiring qualified employees to fill job openings. At the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, a new workforce development division was already in formation to

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Business is Blooming

Lara Pieper is proof that a professional setback can be turned into a huge opportunity — if you’re not daunted by the fact that the professional journey rarely is a straight line. Resourceful, creative, and determined, the 39-year-old Leawood, Kansas, native and single mom of three boys opened Bloom Bookkeeping in 2016 after losing her

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