The Centralina Workforce Development Board Helps Local Businesses ThriveFive Businesses Receive Incumbent Worker Funds for Employee Skills Training The Centralina Workforce Development Board (WDB) is proud to recognize five local employers that have received Incumbent Workforce Development Program funding in the second round for 2006-2007. The Centralina Workforce Development Board approved these grants with funding provided by the NC Department of Commerce - Commission on Workforce Development. Each employer will receive the requested amount of funds to help upgrade the skills of their current workforce as listed below:
The Centralina Workforce Development Board is now accepting applications for the third and final round of Incumbent Worker training funds for 2006-2007. The deadline for submission of applications to Centralina is May 24, 2007. The Centralina WDB looks forward to working with new local businesses to submit applications, as well as, past companies who want to resubmit from previous periods. For more information and to review the revised guidelines and application please visit the Centralina WDB website or contact Vail Carter, Centralina WDB Business Services Coordinator at 704.348.2710 or vcarter@centralina.org. Vail is also available to assist companies in the completion of the application.
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W.A.
Brown & Son, Inc.
General
Microcircuits
Toter
Incorporated
Speedball
Art Products Company
Hexagon
Polymers Compounding NC, Inc.
A
grand total of $126,020 in economic development investment for
these existing businesses has made possible through the Incumbent
Workforce Development. A total of 380 employees are scheduled
to receive training. We thank the companies, the training providers,
and the employees for their willingness to build a stronger workforce
and business environment in our region. For the Centralina
WDB, workforce development is economic development.
The
Summit featured Jeff Chambers, vice president
of human resources at the 
David
Hollars, executive director of the Centralina
Workforce Development Board, provided an update on the
“State of the Workforce Study” based on a recent regional
survey. The State of the Workforce Report identifies key issues
for the region's workforce. In this fast-changing, global, technology-driven
economy, workforce issues must be an integral part of the debate
about how to position the region for sustainable economic growth.
Regional economic development cannot succeed without a stronger
emphasis on and strategic investment in workforce development.
David provided examples of what the Centralina Workforce Development
Board and its partners are doing in the region to address these
issues and resolve them.
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S&D Coffee Expands Operations in ConcordCompany Moves Tea Operations into new Facility “Our increased capacity will allow us to meet the growing demand of our food-service customers who want to serve high-quality iced tea,” says Jerry Collier, S&D vice president of operations. “Our investment in technology, paired with the expanded footprint of our tea warehouse, has made it possible for us to become an even greater resource for those customers.” As you may remember, the Centralina Workforce Development Board February 2007 E-Newsletter covered a story about how McDonald’s coffee was ranked higher than Starbucks in a recent nationwide taste test. S&D supplies McDonald’s with their coffee in over 13,000 locations. The Centralina Workforce Development Board is proud to have great companies in the region that continue to expand and grow their businesses. It’s the great workforce in this region that allows companies to expand and grow in the area. A qualified workforce is job one for the Centralina Workforce Development Board. For more information on the Centralina Workforce Development Board please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or by e-mail at dhollars@centralina.org. Statesville-Mooresville Named the Micropolitan Area of the Year “There’s no other community in the country that’s won it twice, so basically we have a dynasty,” said Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Bradley. A micropolitan is a city with between 10,000 and 49,999 residents. Site selections’ rankings are a measure of which cities attracted the most new and expanded corporate facilities in 2006.In Statesville, expansions out-paced new business, which brought fewer than 70 new jobs and a maximum investment of $350,000. This ranking goes hand-in-hand with the recently announced ranking of North Carolina being No. 3 nationally in business growth. The Centralina Workforce Development Board is proud to have the top micropolitan area in the country right here. A well prepared workforce for an ever changing economy and community is a vital part of the mission of the Centralina Workforce Development Board. For more information on the Centralina Workforce Development Board, please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or by email at dhollars@centralina.org. |
S&D’s
computer-controlled tea-blending equipment allows the company
to manufacture a variety of tea blends. Founded in 1927, S&D
markets coffee, tea and juice to more than 70,000 commercial
customers throughout the United States.
In
terms of new and expanding business, the last several years
have been good for Statesville and Mooresville. For the third
consecutive year, Statesville-Mooresville has been named the
country’s top micropolitan area by the economic
development trade publication site selection.
“We
feel very strong about downtown,” said Barry
Matherly, executive director of LEDA. “This
will allow us to move to the present and the future.”
Centralina
is pleased to announce that the winner of this month’s
drawing is William Goodyear Company in Union County.
William Goodyear manufactures fabricated rubber products.
Cheryl Williams of William Goodyear Company
completed and submitted the survey. We thank Cheryl for helping
us with our continuous improvement feedback process.
Employment Statistics
Updated
Monthly on this E-Newsletter
| January
2007 (Source: NC Employment Security Commission) |
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| County | Unemployment
Rate |
Persons
Employed |
| Anson | 6.9% |
10,357 |
| Cabarrus | 4.4% |
77,962 |
| Iredell | 4.6% |
73,400 |
| Lincoln | 5.2% |
36,528 |
| Rowan | 5.3% |
66,234 |
| Stanly | 5.1% |
28,999 |
| Union | 4.1% |
83,293 |
For more information on employment, click here
The Workforce in the Region is about to get Cubed
Grand Opening of R³ Center Means More Services for Career Seekers
Rowan-Cabarrus
Community College (RCCC) celebrated the grand opening
of their new R³ center in Kannapolis on February 28. The center
is located at 164 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., near the NC
Research Campus. The new adult career development center
serves as a link between displaced workers and emerging job opportunities
at the North Carolina Research Campus.
The center has career development counselors that will help Cabarrus and Rowan residents who are unemployed or underemployed determine if they need additional training or education to obtain a position at a new job.
The
idea for the career development center stemmed from RCCC’s
work with the laid-off Pillowtex workers, said Jeanie Moore, vice
president for continuing education.
“We recognized at that time that our work with that population was largely unfinished,” said Moore.
Many still remain unemployed, and those who did find work may not get paid the same wages and benefits as they once earned in textiles, she added.
The center is not a job-placement service, but partners with other workforce development agencies, including the Centralina Workforce Development Board, JobLink Career Centers in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, NC Employment Security Commission, and other community colleges.
Leaders from Castle & Cooke attended the grand opening and received a tour of the 5,000 square-foot facility. They thanked RCCC for its continued partnership in the research campus.
The Centralina Workforce Development Board is proud to partner with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and all of its partners in Cabarrus and Rowan counties to help connect job seekers with employers. For the Centralina Workforce Development Board a prepared and well trained workforce is job one. For more information on the Centralina Workforce Development Board please visit the website at www.centralinaworks.com or contact David Hollars at 704-348-2717 or by email at dhollars@centralina.org.
Can you Share this Vision?
Stanly County Holds First Economic Summit to Discuss the County’s Needs
The
first Stanly County Economic Summit called “Sharing
the Vision” was held on March 14 at the Stanly Regional Medical
Center in Albemarle. The goal of the summit was to try to figure
out what the county needs to become a major player in the regional
economy. Attendance for the summit was almost 200 individuals representing
local businesses, workforce and education agencies, citizens, government
officials, and concerned leaders in the county.
Presenters at the Summit included Mark Vitner, senior economist and director of corporate investment banking at Wachovia Corporation, as well as Doug Stafford, former executive president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Vitner stated that Stanly County was bound to see growth as an offshoot of the growth in the Charlotte area. Stafford added that talking about the path to take to the future was easy; the hard part was actually making things happen in the upcoming years.
Prior to the summit, meetings were held over the course of three months in each municipality (Albemarle, Badin, Locust, Misenheimer, New London, Norwood, Oakboro, Red Cross, Richfield, and Stanfield) from December to February, as well as one for business owners across the county, to find out what local residents throughout Stanly County needed.
Some
of the shared concerns for the county were the need for infrastructure,
especially for water and sewer, road improvements, like those on
NC 24-27 and US 52, controlling growth, and keeping educated residents
in the county to work.
“This summit is not a culmination, but a first step in making progress, and we will be holding offshoot events,” said Robert VanGeons, executive director of the Stanly County Economic Development Commission and Centralina Workforce Development Board member.
The information presented at the summit will be distributed in the community so the issues can be taken care of county-wide through the respective groups that are in charge of each.
The Centralina Workforce Development Board is proud to partner with many organizations in Stanly County to discuss the workforce and the direction of the future. For more information on the Stanly County Summits or the Centralina Workforce Development Board please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or by email at dhollars@centralina.org.
Commission Releases State of the North Carolina Workforce Report
Continued Focus on Education Deemed Crucial
The
North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development and
the North Carolina Department of Commerce have
released the State of the North Carolina Workforce: An Assessment
of the State’s Labor Force Demand and Supply, 2007-2017,
a lengthy analysis of the patterns and trends in state and regional
economic and workforce development.
The goal of the report, explained Workforce Commission Chairman Chris Rolfe, is to “identify the most critical policy challenges and opportunities for our state to compete successfully and to meet the continued challenges of our economic transformation.”
Some of the key findings of the report include:
- The future
prosperity of all North Carolinians depends on achieving higher
educational levels. Workers with no college training or post-secondary
skill certification will find it increasingly difficult to compete
for jobs in high-wage occupations.
- As the state’s economy continues the transition to a more diverse, knowledge-based, service-oriented economy, it is losing “middle jobs” – jobs that paid a family-sustaining wage but required minimal formal education or training. The low-sill jobs that are replacing those lost “middle jobs” pay lower wages that cannot support a family.
The report is available online at www.nccommerce.com/workforce/SWR. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting Beth Lucas at (919) 715-4298.
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Geared Up 4 Success Tech Prep Career Fair An opening program was presented to parents and students. This included a testimonial from Robbie Fulton, a graduate of what was then Rowan Tech with a major in electrical engineering. Labor market information was provided by the Employment Security Commission. One parent remarked that he had learned more in ten minutes than he had in a long time.
The topic of this fair was formed from the Workforce Development Alliance, a committee of the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce. This committee was formed to address the needs of employers in Rowan County and the lack of candidates for their job openings with the technical skills required. Geared Up 4 Success is an educational initiative, intended to be more of a process than a project. Targeting middle- and high-school students, Geared Up is designed to prepare youth for the exciting possibilities of skilled and technical professions. The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina Youth Council supports and partners with organizations like the Rowan County JobLink Career Center, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, and the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce to help prepare the youth of today for the jobs of tomorrow. For more information on the Centralina Workforce Development Board Youth Council, please contact Emily Barnes at (704) 348-2732 or at ebarnes@centralina.org.
* * * *
* * * Youth achieve goals with the help of the Centralina WDB and its Partners
Jessica intends to enroll at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) and aspires to become a nurse. She is currently working on registering for RCCC’s CNA I class. Jessica has become an even greater inspiration to her two younger sisters by showing that no matter what obstacles you face, you can achieve the goals you have set for yourself. The Centralina Workforce Development Youth Council is very proud of Jessica’s accomplishment and supports her endeavor of continuing her education. Terrance is looking forward to further his education at either UNC at Pembroke or Berea College. Terrance talks of becoming a lawyer and we certainly support him in any endeavor he decides to attempt. Currently, Terrance has a Limited Internship Partnership with Zion Hills Apartments as a clerical/maintenance assistant and is enjoying himself. Terrance is a hard worker who does not complain and does his best to perform above standard. The Centralina Workforce Development Youth Council is very proud of Terrance’s accomplishment and supports his endeavor of continuing his education. * * * * * * *
Local Youth Participate in a Financial Summit at I-Care, Inc. What a S-U-C-C-E-S-S! Simply because 16 teens decided to come out on a Saturday morning to learn how to make better money management choices. On Saturday March 24th, I-CARE, Inc. in Iredell County held their first financial summit for teens entitled, “TEENS GET YOUR MONEY RIGHT.” The summit focused on three majors areas: Savings, Credit and Investing. The teens were divided into three groups and sent to their respective tables. The Savings table explained to youth why they should save their money, making a saving plan, and discussed saving strategies. Patrick Tabor, the facilitator at the Savings table, explained to the participants that just because you buy something off of the dollar menu at McDonalds, that isn’t really saving if, you had food in your refrigerator that you could have eaten.
Over at the Investing table, facilitator Monique Phoenix discussed the who, what, when, where, and why of investing and also the seven basic ways to invest your money. She stressed that investing is not a get rich quick scheme and investing is something you do to satisfy your long term goals of saving. Ms. Phoenix explained what a share of stock was and gave current stock prices for companies that the youth were familiar with such as Nike, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and McDonalds. Unshay Mull and Ayana Pass, two youth that participated in the summit, both remarked that they learned a lot about credit cards and that right now they don’t want one because they would be just too much trouble. NOTE: Unshay Mull is a member of the Centralina Youth Council. The “Teens Get Your Money Right” financial summit set out to equip our teens with the knowledge of how to make better money management choices and to encourage a dialogue amongst our youth that having your finances in order is a good thing and something that they should care about. The
Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina
Youth Council are proud to provide the WIA funding for programs
and services that assist youth in preparation for the workforce
and their lives. For more information on I-Care, Inc. please
contact Mr. Bryan Duncan at (704) 872-8141 or by email at
bduncanicare@bellsouth.net.
For more information on the Centralina Youth Council please
contact Emily Barnes at (704) 348-2732 or by email at ebarnes@centralina.org.
* * * * * * * Ideas for Sparking that Entrepreneurial Spirit in the School System
A new Kauffman report also outlines four strategies to overcome educational inequalities:
A great example of this effort in our region is the Teen Entrepreneurial program offered through Iredell County Teen Health. To find out more, contact Christy Hare at (704) 872-1023. * * * * * * *
High School Transcript Study Shows Declining Science Skills The National Center for Education Statistics recently published results from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Study. When compared to the early nineties, students now take more courses and earn higher GPA’s, but current trends may still raise cause for concern. High school graduates with more rigorous course work earn higher scores on national assessment exams in both math and science. Students whose highest math course included calculus or other advanced math exhibited a mastery of high school level mathematics and scored on average at the proficient level on NAEP exams. However,
the same does not stand true for science. Even students
taking physics or other advanced science courses failed
to master high school level scientific concepts and scored
on average at the basic level on NAEP exams. The full report
is available
online. |
The
The
parents and students were then invited to the student center
where 30 employers and training providers were waiting to
talk to them about different career opportunities. Both
students and parents were actively participating in exploring
possibilities.
Jessica
Connor dropped out of high school at an early age
and is the mother of one beautiful little girl. But this
did not deter her from acquiring her GED. She has a great
attitude towards learning and her infectious smile makes
others smile. Jessica has a love for reading, which is what
helped enhance her scores on the GED test. She scored 500
or better on all five components of the GED, with a total
score of 2790!
Since
Terrance Orlando Phifer
began GED class, he has proven that he is a leader and also
that once he puts his mind to something he follows through
till he sees a finished product. He wasted no time completing
the requirements necessary to gain his GED by receiving
a score of 2420. 
Both
of these outstanding youth are enrolled in Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) programs operated by the 
Robert
Barber, facilitator at the Credit table, stressed to the
youth that even though the commercial says “Credit
forget it”, that was not a motto they should live
by. He gave the definition of credit, explained what a credit
score was and how to maintain a good credit score. Mr. Barber
also discussed the three major credit reporting agencies,
finance charges, and what to do when you get bombarded with
all those credit card applications. 
According
to the 
Ensuring
an entrepreneurial workforce requires a strong primary,
secondary and postsecondary educational system and Kauffman’s
research points to the rising inequalities in the American
education system as one of the nation’s main challenges.
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Barry
Matherly,
Executive Director of the Lincoln County
Economic Development Association was
honored as a 2006 Main Street Champion at the
North Carolina Main Street Annual Awards Dinner
in Morganton. He was selected for this special
recognition by the Downtown Development Association
of Lincolnton. Congratulations to Barry! 
Stanly
County Assistant Manager Bryan Steen
is leaving the county to become county manager
for Stokes County. He will leave his position
in Stanly on April 13. Bryan was originally hired
by Stanly County in September 2003 as the interim
economic development director and began his post
as assistant manager in February 2004. Best wishes
to Bryan in his new job! 
•
Centralina Workforce Development Board meeting
Tuesday April 10, 2007 – 4:30 PM
Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce – Kannapolis
•
Centralina WDB Youth Council meeting
Tuesday April 17, 2007 – 10:00 AM
Cabarrus Business and Technology Center – Concord
•
Centralina WDB Executive Planning Committee meeting
Tuesday April 24, 2007 – 12:00 PM
Carolina Carpet Care & Restoration – Concord
•
Centralina WDB Community Relations Committee meeting
Thursday April 26, 2007 – 12:00 PM
Conference Call/Online Meeting
•
2007 North Carolina Youth Summit
Friday April 20, 2007 – Saturday April 21, 2007
Radisson Hotel – High Point
For: Young adults ages 16-21
For more information, please contact: Patricia White at 704.348.2718
or pwhite@centralina.org
•
Free Income Tax Return Preparation
Now through April 13, 2007
Cost: Free
Call for more information: Vickie Smith 704.825.3737 ext. 276
Open to Gaston County Residents
•
The Ultimate Power Lunch
Monday May 21, 2007 – 12:00 PM
Holiday Inn – Salisbury
Cost: $15.00 per person
RSVP: 704.633.4221
•
Racing to Success In Rowan County
Tuesday May 22, 2007 – 7:30AM – 9:30 AM
The Gateway – 204 East Innes Street – Salisbury
RSVP: 704.637.0760, ext. 383
•
Business Show 2007
Thursday May 24, 2007, 10:00AM – 5:00 PM
Holiday Inn – Salisbury
Cost: Free
Contact: Rowan County Chamber of Commerce 704.633.4221
•
Junior Achievement is looking for volunteers and sponsors in Cabarrus
& Rowan Counties:
Opportunities:
-Volunteer
-Sponsor a class or child
-Help lead the success of Junior Achievement in Cabarrus County
Contact: Stacey Richards, Junior Achievement District Manager
704.563.4858 or srichards@jacarolinas.org
NC Workforce Development Training Center Training Announcements
Testing
& Assessment in Workforce Development
April 24, 2007
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Workforce Development Training Center – Raleigh
Fee: $50.00
ShOW-IT
April 25, 2007
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Carteret Community College-Morehead City
Fee: NC
For
more information about these and other training offerings or to
register for training, please visit: www.ncwdtc.com
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Visit
our website at www.centralinaworks.com
to learn more about the Centralina WDB |
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To
learn more about the Centralina Council of Governments please visit
www.centralina.org
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| CentralinaWORKS is a publication of the Centralina Workforce Development Board. If you do not wish to receive this E-Newsletter in the future, please send a return e-mail and type "REMOVE" in the Subject Line and you will be removed from our distribution list. The CWDB does not share its distribution list with other organizations. Please feel free to share this E-Newsletter with co-workers and other business associates. |