Aspire Johnson County updates commission on strategic plan, school-to-work expansion

Amanda Rebedu, vice president of economic development for Aspire Johnson County, told the redevelopment commission she was updating the commission on the organization’s strategic planning, business attraction activity and workforce programs.

Rebedu said the economic development organization and chamber for Johnson County is focused on advanced-industry job growth, higher wages and workforce pipelines. She summarized the 2020 baseline and progress: the 2020 base for advanced-industry jobs was 4,104, the five-year goal was 6,154 and the most recent count was 4,716. She said the 2020 average wage baseline was $19.23, the goal was $22.12 and the current average wage is $24.24.

Rebedu reviewed recent business-attraction activity: over the 12-month period cited Aspire responded to 53 inquiries in one year and 57 in the last 12 months; the most recent months showed an uptick after a quiet summer. She described Aspire’s site-selection outreach (“we try to put our best foot forward and make sure that, that we're providing them with all the info that they need and really showcasing our community.”) and said the organization is conducting an RFI analysis to learn why some projects were declined.

On workforce programs, Aspire’s school-to-work specialist, Jennifer Hollingshead, runs a program that connects employers to classrooms for activities ranging from short presentations and job shadows to internships and apprenticeships. Rebedu said Aspire supported a new career discovery requirement in schools—short employer-student meetings during the school day—and reported the organization facilitated about 2,100 of those meetings in the past year and increased student, teacher and company engagement “by 95%.” She also said Aspire is the administrator for a JC AMP apprenticeship program for advanced manufacturing that can lead to two years of work experience and an associate degree.

Rebedu outlined the timeline for the strategic plan refresh: steering committee kickoff in July, stakeholder listening sessions this month, regional workforce and site inventories through September, presentation to the economic development advisory council in November and a goal of final approval in December. She said the refreshed plan will be narrower and more focused on economic development than the original 2020 plan.

Commissioners asked about seasonal variations and labor supply. Rebedu said summers are typically slow and that statewide colleagues reported a similar recent uptick in activity. On labor, she said upskilling existing workers is a policy focus and that while the candidate pool may be wider, the depth of qualified applicants remains a concern.