Beebe, state officials talk jobs at press association conference

ROBINSONVILLE, Miss. — States with success in economic development must focus on regionalism, retaining existing jobs, workforce development and the appropriate use of incentives.

Such was the message from Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, Matt Kisber, head of the Tennessee Department of Community Development, and Gray Swoope, head of the Mississippi Development Authority, during a tri-state meeting of the Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee Press Associations.

Beebe spent several minutes talking about his overarching philosophy of economic development, which is that an educated workforce is a state’s best development tool. He said state officials in Arkansas are focused on marrying education with economic development.

“You get those things right, all the other issues are easier to solve,” Beebe said.

Swoope said state officials must also find a way to work with nearby states when recruiting new jobs. He predicted multi-state regionalism “is going to be more and more a factor in economic development.” For example, Swoope said Mississippi and Alabama are working together on a plan to recruit aerospace companies to the two-state area.

Beebe agreed with idea of keeping jobs nearby, saying he would much rather see Mississippi land a new company than for it to go to Peru.

Beebe also said cities within states must work regionally to land new jobs. He said the successful effort to bring Hewlett-Packard to central Arkansas (Conway) required the “professional” efforts of civic and business leaders in Benton, Conway and Little Rock.

Swoope said the other thing states must do is build relationships with other countries. He said the recession has forced many states to reduce or end their overseas marketing operations. With many of the new plants and jobs in the U.S. representing foreign investments, Swoope said cutting costs in that area is a mistake.

“We cannot just turn our back on international activities and hope to survive,” Swoope explained.

Kisber said the industries strong prior to the recession are not necessarily the ones “to lead us out,” adding that states must focus on entrepreneurship and innovation to help grow jobs. He said the successful states will find ways to push entrepreneurship support to rural areas, including finding capital for the smaller markets.