Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

CCIC Talks Training Center

Members of the Clark County Industrial Council were gunshy during their monthly meeting Thursday evening.

This was because of the rapid build up of clouds and approach of severe weather. Weather was "the" topic of discussion early on.

As Mother Nature's spectacle went on, CCIC President Brown Hardman called the meeting to order, giving those on hand the choice of staying or going home because of the weather.

All there remained amidst the crashing thunder.

Jeff Doose, with the Henderson State University business department, talked about the creation of a work force development center.

The concept, he said, has been talked about for a few years. However, until State Rep. Percy Malone talked with HSU Chancellor Charles Dunn, talk was all it was.

From this point, Doose said, a team of students was put together to do a feasibility study on the project.

The team examined labor market trends across the South, along with the state and Southwest Arkansas.

It was learned this area is losing its 18-24 age group, with a slight increase in the population of those 25-54. The fastest growing segment of the state's population is 65 and over, but these people have little impact on the overall industrial employment.

Industry needs, the group found, require the retraining of the existing work force for today's technology. At this time, there aren't enough workers skilled with the high-tech equipment to meet the jobs out there.

According to the survey results, Doose said, industry needs people with the equivalent of a four-year degree combined with technical knowledge.

The job trends, Doose said, show the most growth in industrial jobs, followed by the service industry then the hotel/motel industry.

A new area of growth, information technology, is growing rapidly and causing concern. This, he said, is because there aren't enough workers currently available to fill the demand.

Another problem, according to the survey, is the need to retrain the older workers so they can perform the duties required by the new technical equipment.

"We need technical education," Doose said, "with new skills for the new technology." Technology, he reminded the CCIC members, is constantly changing.

The major areas industry needs to see improvement in incoming workers on the production end are as follows: reading, writing, math, communication, listening, ethics and reasoning.

On the supervisory end, he said, skills in management, team building, interpersonal relationships, computers and communication are necessary.

While for management personnel, he continued, team building skills, the ability to adapt to changes, computer skills and communication skills are required.

But, addressing the current needs won't be enough, he said, the needs of tomorrow must also be addressed.

The survey showed those on the production end of industry will need more computer knowledge, better interpersonal skills, better manners, team building abilities and communication.

Supervisors and managers will also need more improved interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate better and more computer skills.

Currently, according to the survey, industry is spending about $400 per person annually on training.

Because of these needs and the increasing cost of training workers, the center could be a vital link for area industry.

Such a center, Doose said, could offer training in technical programs, knowledge-based programs, upgrading the skills of the area's instructors, gearing them more for technical and thinking skills.

Combining four-year programs with technical skills, he added, needs to be filtered down through the k-12 educational area as well.

The team also developed a basic floor plan for the center. It would include a media center/auditorium, four classrooms, a meeting room, office space, a computer lab, storage area and a kitchen.

According to the team, the best place to put the center would be in the new business park. The reasoning was because this park is more centrally located for its convenience to the schools in Arkadelphia, as well as its clients and it will have fiber optic capability, once built.

The cost of building such a center, according to the plans presented, would be about $2 million.

Doose told the CCIC board there are several areas where the money may be obtained from.

The total annual budget, he said, would be in the neighborhood of $1 million annually.