Fayetteville named to nation’s top list of unexpectedly green cities
August 5, 2010
The Huffington Post selected seven top locations nationwide for cities that have the honor of being “unexpectedly green.” Fayetteville, AR made this list along with towns in Oregon, Alabama, New Hampshire, Texas, Nevada, and California.
Four-States town makes list of nation’s top cities
July 14, 2010
Rogers, Arkansas is one the nation’s top small cities, according to rankings from CNNMoney.com. Rogers nabbed the number ten slot in the list of 100. ”These terrific small cities - even now - boast plenty of jobs, great schools, safe streets, low crime, lots to do, charm, and other features that make a town great for raising a family,” according to CNN Money.
- CNN Money article
- Full List of Top 100 and links to profiles of each town
- Arkansas Business article
- Northwest Arkansas Business Journal article
National report cites leadership as key to regional development
July 8, 2010
The Council on Competitiveness recent released Collaborate: Leading Regional Innovation Clusters, which identifies effective leadership as the cornerstone of regional economic growth, job creation and shared prosperity.
Collaborate brings into focus the unexamined issues of regional leadership and explores the role of regional leadership in a globally competitive environment. The report was commissioned by the Economic Development Agency at the U.S. Department of Commerce to understand how regional collaboration can become a bedrock for national competitiveness.
“Regional leadership is critically important but little understood. The practice of regional leadership often runs ahead of theory. This report summarizes the state of practice and offers useful suggestions on how to move the field forward on a national basis,” said Doug Henton, Chairman and CEO, Collaborative Economics.
Among the challenges to regional collaboration is the absence of political jurisdictions that correspond to economic regions in the United States. As a result, we do not have adequate mechanisms to make decisions on a regional basis. Read Collaborate to discover strategies aimed at overcoming this, and other challenges, to make US regions globally competitive.
Sector Competency Framework Summit set for June 29th
June 22, 2010
The Heartland 411 partnership is pleased to host a day-long training and collaboration summit on Industry Sector Competency Frameworks Tuesday, June 29th. The event runs 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Saracen Room at Downstream Casino Resort.
What is a Sector Competency Framework?
Comprehensive and readily accessible industry competency models that document the foundational and technical skills and competencies required for workplace success in economically important industries. Industry competency models provide a resource for the development of curriculum, certifications, and the tests that assess work-related competencies.
The Heartland 411 partnership of workforce, economic development, and education professionals team up with business sector leaders to design the competency models relevant to the Four-States Region that fill gaps in supply and demand for businesses and the workforce.
Who Should Attend?
Practitioners and program designers in workforce and economic development, education, and industry associations will all gain insights on the tools helpful to achieve talent development goals for the region. Competency models form the foundation for developing curriculum and selecting training materials, and for licensure and certification requirements, job descriptions, recruiting and hiring, and performance reviews.
What happens on Tuesday, June 29th?
Roderick Nunn, the Vice-Chancellor of Workforce and Community Development at St. Louis Community College, facilitates a day-long training and collaboration session on the design and deployment of sector competency models. Rod brings valuable expertise to this Heartland 411 event, having led multi‐million dollar business/industry‐based education and training programs throughout Missouri and Illinois.
The festive environment of the Downstream Casino Resort serves as the backdrop for the event, which includes a buffet luncheon with a staggering variety of oriental, Mexican, Italian, and southern cuisines. The meeting will be in the Saracen Room in the hotel section of the resort. Downstream is conveniently located off Interstate 44, Exit 1, and the Tri-State marker for Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
How Do I Sign Up?
Send your contact information to Jasen Jones by email to ceo@workforcezone.net. Jasen will notify you of your registration and send specific information on the event the day before. Jasen may be reached by phone at 417-206-1717, Extension 224. For more information on the Heartland 411 regional development initiative, visit the website at www.heartland411.org.
2010 SEK Business Conference blazes new trail
May 18, 2010
Southeast Kansas, Inc., SE Kansas Human Resources Association, and Labette Community College are pleased to announce the most comprehensive business conference for Southeast Kansas’s Business community in many years. The 2010 Southeast Kansas Business Conference is set for August 5th at Labette Community College in Parsons. Nationally recognized speakers discuss the topics that are most critical to today’s business environment. This is your organization’s unique opportunity to hear and discuss the most up to date information on a wide variety of meaningful issues.
- Online Registration Link
- Single Page Event Flyer (updated June 17th)
Who Should Attend
This conference is designed to benefit small business owners and managers, as well as human resource professionals and financial officers. With the broad range of topics, it is relevant to manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, educators, bankers, etc. It is advised to bring as many members of your management staff as possible. There is limited seating (200 max.) so please register early.
Session Topics
- Health Care Reform’s Effect on Business
- KS Dept. of Commerce Incentive, Credits and Awards
- Business Survival in Today’s Political Climate
- Strategic Planning Your Business’s Future
- Business Legal Changes
- Employment Law Changes
- Kansas Legislative Review for 2010 Session and Outlook for 2011
- Controlling Health Care Costs
- Hiring Right the First Time
- Human Resources 101
Presenters/Subject Matter Experts
- KS Sec. of Commerce William Thornton
- Wyatt Wright, Esq.
- Andrew Thengvall, Esq.
- Natalie Bright, Esq.
- Dennis George, CEO
- Russ Moen, SPHR
- Walter Keener, SPHR
- Phil Hayes, SPHR
- Sue Goldsmith, SPHR
Registration Info
Individual Full day cost is: $149
Early bird special prior to July 4th: $134
SEK, Inc. and SEK HR mbrs: $134 (prior to July 4th: $120)
Company discount: Add as many colleagues as you wish for only $49 each!
Limited vendor space and advertising opportunities are available as well. Contact Stacey Stuart, sstuart@rsihomeproducts.com, for more information.
- Online Registration Link
- Single Page Event Flyer (updated June 17th)
Region seeks ultra-fast broadband initiative through BbBB
March 22, 2010
The regional development partnerships among chambers of commerce, economic development, business leaders, educators, and communities are seizing an opportunity to propel the area forward to ultra-fast broadband connectivity. Spanning six of the region’s counties with ideal adjacency and assets, the emerging Broadband Beyond Borders (BbBB) initiative seeks a selection by Google to fund and implement a test-pilot gigabit broadband service.
Project leaders are urging local stakeholders to engage the project online through www.broadbandbeyondborders.com and by taking an online survey through Google that is linked on the BbBB site. The deadline for survey participation is Friday, March 26th.
As a stakeholder in regional transformation, the QSRT partners are highly-committed to the success of BbBB initiative as well. Giga-bit fiber to the home is important to expand training resources, employment opportunities (such as Rural Sourcing and telecommuting), and overall connectivity of citizens to associations, governments, and other networks. Gary Box, a Business Retention Coordinator at the SW MO WIB, is assisting the BbBB group with economic development market data needed for the BbBB’s proposal.
The Heartland Giga-Region initiative enjoys an innovative foundation based on a regional transformation framework driven heavily by broadband connectivity. The region’s borderless economic development approach integrates asset-based planning and research, workforce training and employment systems, and sector-based business leadership. Local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) teamed up with local economic developers to launch Quad States Regional Transformation (QSRT) in early 2008. QSRT quickly engaged stakeholders through a series of Regional Chamber impact summits. QSRT created strategies for Rural Sourcing, the leveraging of rural assets and competitive factors to reverse the trends of off-shoring by adding technology sector jobs in rural areas. Asset-based research and planning initiatives shared through QSRT helped equip chamber leaders and community benefactors to design and launch the Regional Prosperity Initiative, which netted more than $3 million in resource leveraging to attain economic development outcomes slated in the next three-five years.
- BbBB group on Facebook
- News coverage on KSN and KODE TV
- News coverage on KOAM and Fox-14 TV
- News coverage from Joplin Tri-State Business Journal
- News coverage from Joplin Globe
- News coverage from Joplin Independent
National O-NET report promotes QSRT success story on helping bring new jobs to region
October 8, 2009
A national report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network (O*NET) showcases the Southwest Missouri WIB’s recent efforts to use O*NET resources to attract new jobs and investment to the region.
The Fall 2009 release of the O*NET Products at Work report includes the WIB’s honors on page 3 as one of several leading-edge best practices nationwide. The spotlight notes the WIB’s joint work with the Miami (OK) Area Economic Development Service to help land 250 new jobs (both direct and indirect) along with $51 million in new investment for the regional economy. The article includes a link to the recent case study published by Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.
The Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri was called on to provide data to attract a germanium wafer (a solar cell semiconductor component) manufacturer to Quapaw, Oklahoma. Oklahoma is part of a four-state WIRED region, so workforce data on all four states was analyzed, using EMSI’s labor market tool, Strategic Advantage. Strategic Advantage uses O*NET data to define the knowledge, skills, and abilities available to employers in a region. With this data, the WIB was able to clearly demonstrate the skills and availability of workers in the area. The manufacturer was convinced that the small town of Quapaw had the necessary workforce, resulting in a $51 million investment and 250 new jobs.
(http://www.economicmodeling.com/resources/527_workforce-data-critical-as-oklahoma-town-attracts-solar-cell-plant/)
Other specific references tied to the Four-States region include the Missouri Department of Economic Development website link to O*NET for MERIC’s Dislocated Worker Tool, the Kansas Department of Labor’s Profile of the Healthcare Industry, the Arkansas Occupational Skill and Assisted Research (OSCAR) tool, Arkansas Rehab Services, Oklahoma Employment Service Commission’s JobLink, and the Workforce Oklahoma Career Connection.
Going Green Symposium Set for February 11th
February 4, 2009
The Going Green Symposium, presented by the Joplin Business Journal and KSN-TV, is set for Thursday, February 11th at the Butchers Block Banquet Center in Joplin. The summit represents an important milestone for green-minded business leaders across the region. Read more
Go East, young man? Californians look for the exit
January 12, 2009
Years of rising taxes, dead-end schools, unchecked illegal immigration and clogged traffic have robbed the Golden State of its allure, so says an A.P. writer in a feature about migration away from the coasts. Does this trend show potential for growth in the Quad-State area? It’s an intriguing trend that regional planners will continue toclosely monitor. Click here for the full article.
Radio Interview on Workforce Immigration
October 26, 2008
Mike-FM 95.1 (KXML & KDMO Radio) aired an interview on regional workforce immigration as part of the Weekend Special public affairs programming. Cooper Banks interviewed Jasen Jones, Executive Director for Southwest Missouri’s Workforce Investment Board, on workforce immigration trends as well as highlights anticipated in an upcoming workshop for employers slated for November 12th in Joplin.
- Click here to download or stream the interview in mp3 format
Advice on downloadable audio: For each audio link, most users will likely want to right click the link and select “save as” then open the file in their audio player of choice. Clicking the link directly may work as well, but could take longer since the file is over 2mb in size.
