Springdale Chamber Hosts Regional Workforce Summit

Responding to ongoing concerns over a shortage of skilled labor in the region, the Springdale Chamber of Commerce is hosting the Northwest Arkansas Workforce Summit, a meeting of educators, human resources professionals, and business leaders.

The primary goal of the Nov. 17 summit is to create awareness among human resources personnel that there are already programs at local high schools, at Northwest Arkansas Community College, and at the Northwest Technical Institute, that prepare people for jobs in trades such as mechanics, manufacturing, maintenance, transportation, computer networking, welding and culinary arts.

The Northwest Arkansas Council, a partner in the summit, identified the need for better workforce training in its 2015-2017 strategic plan. Mike Harvey, chief operating officer of the council, said at least a generation of people had been lost to the notion that the only way to be successful was to go to college and earn a four-year degree.

But, Harvey said, there are plenty of opportunities for those with 18-month and two-year certificates. And there are plenty of opportunities for human resources directors to enhance the collective skill of their employees by urging them to use such programs.

“Talent drives the growth of startups, the expansion of existing businesses and serves as a magnet for companies evaluating the region for a new location,” Harvey said. “Regions that don’t identify and effectively address workforce development as the No. 1 issue will become also-rans in less than a generation.”

Featured speakers include Jennifer McNelly, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute, Russell Tooley, executive vice president of Tyson Foods Inc., Rick Webb, a former senior vice president at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Joe Rollins, principal at the School of Innovation in Springdale.

As many as 400 people are expected to attend the event at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale.