And it starts with the basics. There's a certain level of skill that needs to be attained prior to walking up to their door. Leaders are convinced that blurring the boundaries between the places of learning and the places of earning will help people to reach both of those goals. For example, plans call for a Chamber presence on the campus of the University of Kentucky, apprenticeship and internship initiatives, and an effort to measure and encourage a constant cross-pollination of classroom and business experience. You have to make sure the effort is well-rounded.
Workforce development is especially important in an area with such low unemployment.
Marty Dorio of Clark Equipment tells of calling up Kentucky Tech and saying he had five people that needed specific training. He was told that five people do not make a class. That's a better use of public training money, one that addresses needs and doesn't have five employers out there trying to train only their own workers. The state pours a lot of money into workforce development, so it makes sense to train them the way the private sector wants them to be trained, because the whole point is to hire them. That's not an efficient use of anyone's money.