The Mayor’s Economic Development Task Force met July 13 with David Mason, dean of workforce development at North Arkansas College (Northark) in Harrison, to discuss the availability of and potential to expand skills’ training in the area to help people enter good paying careers.
Mason said before he moved to Northwest Arkansas from Southern California, there was no dean of workforce development at Northark for several years. His first efforts on the job have been meeting with businesses and community leaders in the five counties covered to spread the word about what the community college has to offer. He has toured some area businesses including Wilson Combat in Berryville.
Mason said there is a significant need for workforce training not just for new, but existing businesses. He said Northark hopes to be the first community college in the state to offer micro credentialing. This can allow people to quickly learn a skill needed in the workforce. He also spoke of their innovative biomed technician and turfgrass programs.
Mason said that career and technical education, which is teaching specific career skills to students, is an alternative to traditional four-year college degrees. Those can leave people with a lot of student loan debt, and don’t always lead to landing a good job. He said the CTE training is all hands-on learning designed to give the student skills in demand in the workforce. It isn’t just theory.
“Unique things are going on at North Arkansas College,” Mason said. “There are opportunities to get training at the college that can lead to a good job. We are building our apprentice programs. For example, students can do apprenticeships in industrial maintenance, construction skills, auto collision repair, turfgrass and biomed tech programs where they can continue working for the company after finishing the apprenticeships. We are looking to partner with more people in this area. It has a lot of positive momentum. We also have some entrepreneurial training.”
Mason said he would like to talk to local counselors and students about the workforce training available. “You can get your training done and go make money,” he said.
Mason said training is also available to upgrade skills for people who are already on the job.
Kent Turner said the needs in Eureka Springs are a little different because the jobs here are mainly related to tourism. Kimberly Clark said there are people in town who want to do something other than tourism, like small home construction.
Turner has established the 501(c)3 nonprofit, The Community Development Corporation of Eureka Springs, for housing and other community development initiatives.
The Task Force is in the process of developing a construction trade school that would include teaching preservation craft and traditional construction trades, and provide opportunities for students to build modular, kit, and stick homes, Task Force Chair Sandy Martin said.
Currently it can be difficult to find carpenters, plumbers and electricians to do repair work as many are either working on larger jobs building new homes or have aged out of the workforce.
“It is hard to get skilled craftsmen to work on houses, and we particularly need people who are skilled at working with historic homes,” Martin said. “There are only six schools in the country that specialize in teaching preservation trades. If we had such a school, it would be a phenomenal hub to serve Arkansas.”
Mason responded that this past semester Northark students built a tiny home. “There may be opportunities to work together,” he said.
Northark is in the process of working towards building an $8 million Center for Robotics and Manufacturing Innovation. And he said it may be possible to hold a commercial driver’s license course in Carroll County. Currently there is such a big shortage of truck drivers that it is causing supply chain problems. Walmart recently announced it would offer new truck drivers $95,000 to $110,000 a year to combat shortages estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
“There are a lot of exciting things happening,” Mason said. “We want to tailor our offerings to what you need. We would like more people to know about our programs and what we do.”
Martin discussed the possibility of holding a fall workshop to let people know about the opportunities. She likes the idea of Eureka Springs developing a model for a workforce training in a tourism dependent town in a rural area.
Mason said there are a lot of different options and pathways. “We can evaluate the community needs and tailor classes to serve Eureka Springs,” he said.
The group also discussed the need for people trained in small appliance repair and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Some homeowners have reported having to wait several months to get HVAC service. Turner said local HVAC companies have trouble hiring enough workers because they can go work at Tyson and make twice as much.
Martin said she sees two major targets for workforce education: youths and senior citizens who may need to supplement their income. “It would be great if they could learn skills and get certifications that would allow them to make a good income,” she said.