Cherokee County became the first county in the Sunflower State to reach the status of Certified Work Ready Community. Ceremonies held Friday at the Columbus Community Center featured remarks from CWRC core team volunteers and regional economic development leaders. Catch the full ceremony video below along with related links for regional news media and regards…
Organic ag employers of all sizes across the midwest learned more about the resources for recruitment, training, and retention of students and transitioning adults through the Missouri Job Center system and its strategic partners. Jasen Jones from the Workforce Innovation Board paired up with Jeanne Lake with the Division of Workforce Development for a presentation…
Joplin ranks in the top quarter of small cities nationwide for economic dynamism, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The Small City Economic Dynamism Index to help policymakers and practitioners gain more nuanced perspectives. The index ranks 245 small U.S. cities across 14 indicators (see below) of economic dynamism in four categories: demographics,…
A new three-minute video posted by the WIB provides a quick overview of SectorReady. The clip is a video-scribe of the features of career pathways and sector partnerships. The SectorReady framework in 2016 is set to revolutionize the methods by which students and transitioning adults learn about job opportunities and how to get the skills needed…
The region’s premiere journal for workforce/economic development published its Fall 2015 edition. High Tech Meets High Touch is the theme for the latest issue of WorkforceZone. This edition picks up on the latest for SectorReady, including a special feature on employer benefits and 2016 deliverables. The journal recaps the recent Heartland Workforce Summit, highlights of Monett’s…
Local Workforce leaders represented Southwest Missouri for the Show-Me State’s kickoff of sector strategies in a planning/training event held earlier this month in Osage Beach. Tucked away on the banks of the Lake of the Ozarks, about 130 professionals from the state’s workforce system and their partners from education, economic development, and workforce worked over two days…
The Monett Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated National Manufacturers Day with a special ceremony October 2nd at Playpower. As noted in this article from the Monett Times Newspaper, the event included special proclamations from the Missouri House of Representatives, the Monett City Council, Barry County Commission, and Missouri Enterprise. The Workforce Investment Board also joined the…
The 2015 Heartland Workforce Summit marked the official launch of the SectorReady™ Toolkit 1.0. Powered by the WIB and the Joplin Regional Partnership, the toolkit reflects the region’s framework development and research in 2014-2015 for a robust array of career pathway and sector partnership resources. Along with the presenters and attendees, the Workforce Summit was a success…
Smartasset.com’s ranking of community colleges includes three in the Joplin region among the top 100 in the nation, with two at the top. Ft. Scott Community College topped the list and Labette Community College came in at number. Crowder College in Neosho ranked as 26, one of only three in Missouri to make the top 100. The…
The unbundling of education and the momentum building for short-term credentials shows end users that a degree isn’t the only way to earn and learn a living. Mark Schneider from the American Institutes for Research penned a feature, The Value of Sub-baccalaureate Credentials, for the journal Issues in Science and Technology with helpful insights for advocates and…