Companies, organizations get creative in workforce development
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rkansas companies that rely on skilled labor have been working overtime to attract help. Increasingly, companies have partnered with local schools and community colleges to provide advice and expertise to training programs. This ensures students learn the most in-demand skills, virtually guaranteeing them a job after graduation. Here are a few companies and organizations that are setting the pace in worker training and development, both internally and externally.
ABC ARKANSAS
As president of Associated Builders and Contractors, Bill Roachell hears from his member companies all the time about the challenges of finding good help to accommodate their growth and to replace workers who are retiring. The demand is so great, ABC has implemented its own apprenticeship and training programs to help boost the number of hirable workers coming out of twoyear colleges and those headed straight for the workforce after high school. And
they’re always looking at new and faster ways to get people looking to change careers the basic instruction they need to get into the job market. “We’ve got a new program coming online that we call fast-track training,” he said. “Over an accelerated timetable, we can get people OSHA 10 trained, we can get them their CPR first aid, we can get them their basic core construction. Maybe a little bit in electrical, a little bit in plumbing, and then get those people moving into the workforce. “There’s a ton of opportunity out there right now. For people who maybe were displaced by COVID who are looking to get back into the workforce, this will help them get a better job than they had before.” Roachell said he’s been impressed with the shift many Arkansas high schools and community colleges have taken to emphasize skilled career training in recent years, measures that ABC has partnered with several schools to provide throughout the state. “These programs are helping us recruit new and better talent into the construction workforce,” he said. “A lot of these kids are in rural communities and they
FOUR FAST FACTS
WELDING • One of the foundational skilled careers, welders are in demand across a wide range of industries. • Demand for welders in Arkansas expected to outpace the national average. • Train in school or through an apprenticeship program. • Construction, manufacturing and utilities are just three areas desperate for welders. INTERESTED? See Page 47 for more. 26
BLUEPRINT | 2022 | ARKANSAS TIMES
