Three regional workshops last fall on southeast Minnesota’s workforce shortage identified several possible solutions to the problem.

Preliminary findings from the discussions in Albert Lea, Owatonna and Winona were released Friday.

Some of the strategies identified include:

Developing stronger school-business partnerships, mentorships and apprenticeships.

Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Randy Kehr said Albert Lea is working on expanding the role of apprenticeships and mentorships.

Kehr said the Business and Education Partnership Committee of the Chamber of Commerce met Friday to discuss strategies to develop stronger school and business partnerships, including apprenticeships and mentorships.

He said an Albert Lea High School alumnus has offered to create a liaison position to strengthen the bond between the high school and the business community.

Career pathways: Kehr said a program between Riverland Community College and Albert Lea High School allows students to select classes that will enhance their ability to attain a job in their chosen field, whether that’s right after high school or college.

Marketing the region to attract new workers: Kehr said the Chamber of Commerce is still working on the issue. Journeys of Growth, a five-year economic development plan devised to ensure regional economic growth, is putting together a roundtable with food and dairy industries to try to develop a strategy to attract new industry businesses to the area.

• Improving workforce transportation: Kehr said that issue is tied to the lack of workforce housing in Albert Lea. He said the city is working on a workforce housing development grant.

A session will be held Feb. 25 to bring all of the ideas to the table and develop more specific strategies.

“I think this is really critical,” said Blue Zones Project Manager Ellen Kehr in a press release. “To have a vibrant economy you need to not just have jobs; you need to have the people that are going to perform the jobs.”

The organization said its project will provide an opportunity to learn what strategies actively engage smaller communities, and increase the region’s capacity for collaboration and planning on other issues.

The organization is seeking to develop workforce solutions that address the labor shortage within southeastern Minnesota by creating opportunities for smaller communities to grow in partnership with local businesses, workforce development agencies and initiatives.

Randy Kehr said without collaboration, progress won’t be made on the issue.

“If southeast Minnesota is going to succeed, we’re going to succeed together,” he said.