Giving Compass' Take:

• Katherine Jollon Colsher, National Director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, discusses the importance of training for small business development. 

• What are the benefits of workforce development training for small businesses? What are the needs of small businesses in your community? 

• Read the Aspen Institute's earlier piece on how upskilling is gaining momentum in 2018. 

Katherine Jollon Colsher is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and the National Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is an investment to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing access to education, capital and business support services.

What can you tell us about the importance of business owner training and what type of business owner training you have found stimulates growth and opportunities within companies?

At Goldman Sachs we believe that one of the smartest economic investments we can make to support economic growth is in small businesses and helping entrepreneurs create jobs and broaden opportunity. An important part of strengthening frontline worker training is to train small business owners to manage and sustainably grow their businesses, and to understand the short- and long-term value of investing in workforce development.

Does your program include training on the importance of employee training, and have you found any correlation to small businesses that provide training and the success of the companies?

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses emphasizes employee training and workforce development for small business owners – and leadership and people development is an important part of the business education our participants receive. A portion of the 10,000 Small Businesses curriculum focuses on leadership skills development for business owners as well as on optimizing employee recruiting, hiring, training and retention.

What is the biggest problem that small businesses say they have when it comes to hiring?

Finding skilled labor is a small business owner’s number one issue. Based on Babson’s State of Small Business in America research, over 70% of business owners surveyed clearly indicated the need for more qualified workers.

Read the full article about business development training at The Aspen Institute.