Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Mayor Howard Taylor Attends SWAPDD Meeting In Hope, April 10

There was a definite influx of positive energy filling the meeting room of the Quality Inn in Hope on Thursday, April 10, according to a news release from Southwest Arkansas Planning Development District (SWAPDD).

Representatives of the Department of Labor, county judges, mayors, college professors, guidance counselors and school superintendents, to name a few, gathered to brainstorm and implement real life solutions to both age-old and new-age education and employment problems.

It was the special meeting of the Southwest Arkansas Workforce Development Council, a problem-solving think tank of the SWAPDD.

Discussions ranged from ways to better improve Southwest Arkansas' public, technical and secondary education to better ways to improve communication between industry heads and education administrators.

Dr. Lee Garner, independent educational consultant from Fordyce, who has donated his time and expertise to this project of the Workforce Development Council, and Kathy Campbell, the district's management and operation's team director, presented a report and recommendations culminating some six months and over 1,000 man hours of study.

Emphasizing that the problem of the workforce's lack of preparedness is one of the most crucial dilemmas facing the nation today, Dr. Garner recommended that the council, "could facilitate the development of model programs for each of the target groups; social service agencies, businesses, industries, schools and parents.

"These programs could include: apprenticeships; internships for teachers, students and potential employees; teacher and industry exchange; parent involvement groups; technical fairs; and business and industry awareness training for teachers," he said.

In addition to the various recommendations to the council, Campbell noted that "regional Workforce Development Centers will hopefully be established throughout the 12-county district, and these should be located in logical population areas without regard to county lines."

Some such centers currently exist within the region, but funding is available for other `one-stop' centers that would provide employment information, resume-writing assistance, personal management skills and which would also be a liaison between employment and training agencies, educators and employers.