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Regional Business Needs Assessment

NIACC is conducting this survey to better understand the needs of regional businesses, including workforce challenges, training priorities, and opportunities for collaboration. Your feedback will help guide NIACC's Business and Workforce Solutions offerings, John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center programming, customized training, networking opportunities, and other initiatives that support regional economic growth.

The survey takes approximately 8-10 minutes to complete. Individual responses and contact information will remain confidential, and results will be reported only in aggregate form. Thank you for sharing your insights and helping shape future workforce and business development efforts in North Iowa.
Section 1: About Your Organization
1.What county is your primary business location?(Required.)
2.What industry best describes your organization?(Required.)
3.What type of business structure does your organization have?
4.How many employees does your organization currently have?
5.In the past 5 years, the number of your employees has:
6.What best describes your role?
Section 2: Workforce Challenges and Growth Barriers
7.What factors are currently limiting your organization's ability to grow or expand in this region? (Select the top 3)
8.Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty filling positions?
9.Approximately how many positions does your organization anticipate hiring for during the next 12 months?
10.What are the primary reasons you have difficulty filling positions? (Select all that apply)
11.When you have difficulty filling positions, how has your organization responded? (Select all that apply)
12.If you hired less-qualified candidates to fill openings, how did you adjust expectations (select all that apply)
13.Geographically, where is your organization willing to recruit to find skilled workers? (Select all that apply.
Section 3: Future Workforce and Talent Needs
14.What skills are currently missing from your workforce? (Select up to 5)
15.Which emerging skills do you believe will become more important in your organization during the next three years? (Select up to 5)
16.Which occupational areas do you anticipate will have the greatest hiring needs within your organization over the next three years? (Select all that apply)
17.Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements based on your organization's workforce needs over the next three years.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
We will need more skilled workers.
Finding qualified workers will become more difficult.
The regional workforce pipeline will be able to meet our needs
We will need to invest more in training and developing current employees
We will need to increase wages and/or benefits to attract workers
We expect to rely more on automation, technology, or AI to address workforce shortages
We expect to expand internships, apprenticeships, or work-based learning opportunities
We are interested in stronger partnerships with NIACC to help meet our workforce needs
Section 4: Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Readiness
18.What best describes your organization's current relationship with artificial intelligence (AI) or advanced automation tools?
19.What technology-related training, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), would be most valuable for your workforce? (Select all that apply.)
20.Which technologies, automation tools, or process changes do you anticipate will have the greatest impact on your organization's hiring or training needs over the next three years? (Select all that apply.)
Section 5: Training Needs and Partnership Opportunities
21.How are your company's training needs being met? (Select all that apply)
22.What training delivery formats would work best for your organization? (select all that apply)
23.Which skills/professional development topics or resources would be most valuable to your organization? (Select all that apply)
24.Which of the following talent pipeline activities would your organization be interested in partnering with NIACC? (Select all that apply.)
25.What barriers, if any, prevent your organization from participating in skills/professional development? (Select all that apply)
Section 6: Entrepreneurship and Business Growth
26.Which of the following entrepreneurship or small business support topics would be valuable to your organization? (Select top 5)
27.What stage best describes your business?
28.Which types of networking or convening opportunities would be most useful? (Select all that apply)
Section 7: Final Thoughts
29.What is one thing NIACC could do to better support your workforce or business growth needs?
30.Are there any additional comments, concerns, or ideas you would like to share?
31.May NIACC contact you to follow up on your responses?
32.If you responded yes to the above question, please provide your name, company, position, and contact information
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