Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Employers and educators urge stronger vocational pathways and apprenticeships to fill local jobs
Summary
Speakers at an Effingham focus group praised Unit 40 and regional partners for vocational programs, described partnerships with Lakeland and CTEC, and said employer apprenticeship programs (e.g., FlexEngage's plan) are essential to fill rapidly growing technical positions.
Local educators, employers and city staff described ongoing partnerships to develop work-ready talent and urged the comprehensive plan to support those pathways.
Multiple attendees praised Unit 40's vocational offerings and the teachers who lead them. One participant said the district has used the city's $100,000-per-year vocational fund to strengthen programs at the high school and bring back FFA and other applied programs. "Hats off to these kids," one attendee said of students in vocational classes.
Employers described concrete apprenticeship connections. Dave, HR manager at FlexEngage, said the company is working with Lakeland on apprenticeship programs across molding, operations and coding, with a goal of growing its workforce from about 500 employees toward 1,000 in the coming years: "We're starting the process of working with Lakeland now on apprenticeship programs...we'd love to grow organically within the community with the students," he said.
School and workforce representatives outlined other pathways: CTEC classes, Lakeland College partnerships, a regional career academy and a school-based career-planning platform (School Links) that helps students research career clusters and local opportunities. Several speakers urged expanding teacher-industry exposure days and employer tours for students to encourage local retention.
Attendees recommended that the comprehensive plan include supportive policies for business-education partnerships, targeted funding for skills training, and continued city support for seed programs (the meeting noted a $70,000 seed contribution to CTEC).
