Nevadans feeling consequences of more skill-based economy, HR pros say

Nevada workers are beginning to grapple with having to adapt to what Gov. Brian Sandoval has termed the new Nevada economy, say three Las Vegas human resources professionals.

In 2012, Sandoval laid out a vision for the state to become more dependent on skilled jobs.

Dennis Bonilla, executive dean of the College of Information Systems and Technology at University of Phoenix, said Las Vegas has had a reputation as a place where somebody doesn’t need an education to get a well-paying job — until now.

“I think people are realizing there’s no easy way to stay relevant, without you doing something to keep yourself relevant,” Bonilla said, adding that the “gravy train” of being able to make a lot of money as a parking valet, for example, has ended.

That “new” economy is starting to take shape, and it is affecting local recruitment and retention strategies, says Javier Mendez, director of human resources at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

A SKILLS GAP

Mendez said he and his team are formulating how to address a coming skills gap, a consequence of a transitioning economy.

“How do we get more people engaged and intertwine learning and development at the same time,” Mendez said. “Knowing that there is going to be a skills gap, we are now reaching out to local community colleges and also RedFlint, and other organizations so that we can build our employees from blue collar and hopefully convert them to white collar in the near future.”

Mendez was one of three speakers Wednesday at RedFlint — a University of Phoenix-owned business incubator, community education center and startup accelerator in downtown Las Vegas — who informed a crowed of about 100 human resources professionals from around the country about local recruitment and retention trends.

JOB TRAINING

Stana Subaric, senior vice president of human resources for Affinity Gaming, agreed with Mendez that training is the key to recruiting new employees and retaining current ones. Affinity Gaming is also boosting its emphasis on workforce training, she said.

“We have opened up the door to some online learning. We’ve partnered with an outside vendor to allow employees to take online classes,” Subaric said. “They can take it at home (if they want). There’s no requirement for them to do it at all. But it’s something that the organization is doing to reinvest in the employee and keep them either up to date with current skills or the opportunity for development in a future profession.”

Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @JournalistNikki on Twitter.