If you’re looking to start or expand a business in San Juan County, Four Corners Economic Development (4CED) offers you the expertise and connections to help you find and/or upskill your employees. San Juan County businesses benefit from a diverse, well-educated workforce and have access to a full spectrum of business development resource providers at the Quality Center for Business on the campus of San Juan College. These partners are ready to support your workforce training needs and access to capital for growth.

San Juan County’s total employment was about 48,000 in 2017. Small businesses make up the largest portion of the workforce, accounting for approximately 60% of the total. Most of these businesses have 10 or fewer employees.

Of the County’s total employee base, the largest sector was health care at 17%, followed by 12% retail, 10% mining and oil and gas, 10% education and 10% hotels/restaurants. In the last decade, as is common with much of the rest of the nation, the County’s largest employment increase in the health care and hotel/restaurant sectors, with a net increase of 1,836 jobs and 496 jobs, respectively.

Some of the larger ​employers ​in San Juan County are San Juan Regional Medical Center, the public school districts, San Juan College,  Raytheon Missile Systems, PESCO (Production Equipment & Service Company), HilCorp Energy and Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI).

Workforce Partners are Here for Business

San Juan College stands at the heart of the workforce development in San Juan County. The two-year comprehensive community college is truly a community gem! It is the fifth-largest college in New Mexico and offers hundreds of two-year degree and certificate programs and partners with state universities in bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Students at the ​San Juan College School of Energy​ can earn certificates and degrees in high-wage, high-demand fields in the energy industry. The school, located in a new 65,000-square-foot facility built through a partnership of the private sector and college, houses state-of-the-art labs overseen by a faculty of deeply experienced industry professionals. Recently, the school launched a new training program focused on carbon capture technology. This new focus area is in addition to other core offerings like plant operations, natural gas compression technology, and others.

The ​San Juan College Center for Workforce Development​ is dedicated to providing professional and technical training to employers and employees in leadership development, computers and technology, communication skills and team skills and other aspects of professional development. The award-winning​ Farmington ​Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offers a wide range of​ support services to new and existing businesses. Counselors assist business owners with pre- and post-venture planning through no-charge confidential one-on-one consulting. The SBDC also offers regular low-cost training and can assist entrepreneurs with vital initial networking between local companies.

The Farmington office of the ​New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership offers workshops, training​ and assessments based on results-driven methodologies to increase the productive capabilities of the workforce in a manufacturing setting. The Women’s Business Center Program at WESST Farmington offers small business owners a variety of training and consulting services geared to, but not limited to, women in all market sectors. The​ New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions offers job seekers access to career development resources and employer services to help them navigate workforce recruitment and employment regulations.

Bottom Line: 4CED is Committed to Helping You Grow Your Business