3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014
3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Economic Development Activities and Accomplishments Growth and Retention Projects Working with our partners, the community provided support to help several existing businesses consider local growth projects. Page | 1 Project Injector –An existing business specializing in engine work is expanding their 6,000 ft facility by another 5,000 ft2. This project did not involve incentives but it required extensive work from Chamber staff to help the business and property owner negotiate an easement agreement with the local and regional office of the adjoining property owner. The firm is adding one new position with a wage of $50,000. During the second quarter of 2014, the neighboring property agreed to certain easement restrictions. The agreements have been filed with the deeds and records. The business is now waiting for clearance from the Army Corps of Engineers for a construction elevation which the City of Salina has to accept prior to a building permit being issued. Project start date is still 2014. Project Trailer – An existing business has invested $780,000 to add 15,000 ft2 to their operations. They will be making a new product and will be hiring 4 new employees with an average wage of $35,000. Property tax abatement was the local incentive used to support the project. In addition, job training support is being pursued with the Kansas Department of Commerce. During the Third quarter of 2014, construction finished - occupancy has occurred and production has started in the building. Project Abra –An existing manufacturer wishes to expand their 19,280 ft2 facility by 14,460 ft2 to create a 33,740 ft2 facility. The number of new jobs to be created has yet to be finalized as there are issues related to utility service that need to be addressed prior to moving forward. Concerns exist for the extension of city services onto a private development or that existing utilities will not be sufficient to serve any expansion and may trigger wholesale utility improvements to this business and all of the adjacent businesses. The chamber is assisting this business and encouraging them to use the DRT process with the City of Salina. The project is on hold until the owner can meet with the property owners in the area to discuss the expansion of the private utilities. The planned DRT meeting has not been scheduled as the property owner does not feel they are ready to meet with the City at this time. The business is still farming out extra work that they would like to do in house but cannot until they build a facility. Project Colt – This project was previously known as Project Round. The corporate parent of an existing Salina manufacturing plant has approved an expansion that is both organic growth and the move of a plant from another state. Salina was selected over another Kansas location for this project. An announcement about 75 new jobs for Salina is pending. The current facility is large enough to absorb the expansion if they can relocate some of their raw materials to another location. Chamber provided information to company and is working with the company to finalize the state incentive package associated with the project. 2 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Project - Bulk Solids Research Center – In October 2014, the steel for the building has begun to go vertical. The 12,768 ft2 center is leading to 31 new jobs. Thanks to significant corporate equipment donations, the building value has grown beyond the original planned value of $3,469,350. Anticipated construction completion is mid April 2015 with opening in late May. There are multiple working groups focused on elements of the project: Page | 2 Access and Use Agreement A local attorney serving as a volunteer and Chamber staff have reviewed and provided comment about three draft documents from Kansas State University. The documents are: o License Agreement between SEDC and a facility user o Rules and Regulations for Tenants o The Real Estate Lease Agreement Contractor Selection Bidder solicitation was statewide and beyond. 6 official bids were received on June 10th, per federal government policy and process. The bids were publicly opened and reviewed by Jeff Gillam of Jones Gillam Renz Architects. After scrutiny and reference checks the best bid from Ron Fowles Construction of Manhattan, Kansas was recommended to the Salina Economic Development Corporation. SEDC board accepted that recommendation contingent upon approval from Economic Development Administration has been sought for approval. The resulting contract amount being proposed is $1,856,224 for the building construction work. The work is to be completed in 270 days from the notice to proceed which is expected later this summer after formal contracting and a pre-construction conference occurs. Construction Oversight The architect and the committee conduct a meeting with the contractor every other Monday. Equipment Design The equipment design team is currently reviewing with potential vendors possible equipment donations. In addition, they have put together a test setup of the dense phase equipment. In the coming months, they will finalize the remaining equipment to be used in the full scale lab area. Approximately $2,400,000 of equipment has been donated to date. Publicity/Website The Website committee has created the content and launched the page. http://bulk-solids.kstate.edu/ the publicity committee has worked with the vendor and the sign is up at the site. A brand guide has also been created to indicate how the logos can be used. 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Research & I.P. Agreement The committee is reviewing the tenure-track engineering technology professorship search and discussed the pending arrival of a post-doctoral researcher to the Kansas State - Salina campus. The partnerships that exist between KSU and industrial companies were reviewed. The committee discussed the types of contractual arrangements that can be developed between KSU and industrial companies. Future meetings will take place electronically on an as-needed basis Page | 3 and will be depend upon the nature and complexity of pending contractual agreements. Facility Operations and Ownership The furniture and fixtures budget has been set. A firm has been confirmed to provide procurement services. In addition, there are a few local businesses that will be allowed to directly submit their pricing proposals for selected items from the furniture and fixtures. Center Advisory Council This council will begin to meet as completion of the building nears. The council will be the permanent group advising about the facility in the future. New Business Attraction Primary Employers Project Friday – Allstar Automotive, a former Project Open client, has signed a purchase agreement with the SAA and will build a new facility for the repair of vehicles. TDM Aero Tek – A business that will provide maintenance and repair services on small general aviation airplanes has opened. This was a targeted type of business to attract to the Salina Regional Airport and the Salina economic development team worked with the company officials to secure their decision. No local or state incentives were needed. They are leasing building 506-2, which is 4,900 ft2. This project was started in 2013 and the lease was completed in the first half of 2014. Project SAC – An east coast based manufacturer with a manufacturing facility in California has viewed various buildings and sites in Salina using the LOIS, Fast Facility, and Chamber and Salina Airport Authority websites. They have concluded that Salina is an ideal location to manufacturer their wood based product. The firm will visit various buildings that are approximately 50,000 to 60,000 ft2. A project questionnaire has been supplied to the company and it is expected that State of Kansas incentives will be used. The firm’s project coordinator affirmed company interest in Salina. Project Sway - A California based company has tentatively committed to locating in Salina to manufacturer their product that is frequently used in the construction business. The firm will be reorganizing to include a current Saline County resident as a financial partner before it moves ahead. HPIP, PEAK and Workforce training are the key State of Kansas incentives that will be used to secure the project. Project timing is still yet to be finalized. Project Buffalo - An out of state partnership is considering Salina as a location for an agricultural related business which would purchase local raw material assemble a product and ship it overseas 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 in a container to dairy farms in China. Company needs rail for shipping out; Company has toured five buildings at the Salina airport and is considering vacant ground locations. The company, working with their local realtor, is still considering their options. Project Plastic – A manufacturer is in the process of consolidating a plant in another state and moving its production to Salina. When this occurs, approximately 100 jobs will move to Salina. The existing plant in the other state currently has 175 employees. None of the current employees will be moved to Salina. The size and scope of the project has not been finalized and is pending final corporate decisions and actions. Leads generated by the Kansas Department of Commerce Project Clean – KDOC has requested sites for new facility requiring 5-15 acres of land to construct a 50,000 to 70,000 sq. ft. facility site must be located next to rail and have interstate access. Salina offered it 42 acre site which contains a 10 acre and 32 acre site, is located next to the Union Pacific RR spur and is a half mile east of the Interstate 135. Site material including demographics was delivered to Kansas Department of Commerce staff; we are waiting on an update. Project Roma –The Chamber provided information was for a prospect wanting to purchase a building that is between 95,000 and 150,000 ft2 Properties from Salina were provided. The visit occurred in early July and Salina is the only Kansas location still under consideration. It is believed there are six other states under consideration. After the visit, additional information about wages and the building was provided. Salina responded to a site information request by a European metal fabrication firm looking to enter the American market. The firm seeks a 120,000 ft2 building that has or can support a 20 ton and 40 ton cranes. Information about a specific available building in Salina was presented. Kansas was eliminated as a site location by the firm. Project Freedom – The State of Kansas informed Salina that a vendor to a current Salina based manufacturer is interested in opening a facility in Salina. The move to Salina will create up to 10 new jobs. At this point, the wage level of the jobs has not been verified but it appears that some of the jobs will be quality and premier wage positions. They desire a 20,000 to 25,000 ft2 building. Information about available buildings has been provided to the State. A site visit and a final decision are pending an agreement between the prospect and their Salina customer. When a project questionnaire has been completed, state incentives will be detailed and the Salina economic development team will better understand if local incentives will be needed. In this project, the Salina team has been given the specific name of the firm. KS Department of Commerce staff and Chamber staff met the owner of the firm at their Illinois based headquarters. Page | 4 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Retail/Service Employers Construction at the former Dillon’s grocery store is proceeding. Save-A Lot plans to open around Christmas. Vanderbilt’s has started construction on its 5,000 ft2 addition. Buffalo Wild Wings and Shoe Carnival worked with Salina Chamber for more than a year to find the best location and both will be open during the fourth quarter of 2014. Rib Crib announced during the second quarter of 2013 that they will build a store in front of Lowes. Project is waiting for site plan approval from Lowe’s corporate office. The new owners of 1616 W. Crawford are working with a Salina architect on a major and total remodeling of the property. This will address the lack of a quality “meet and sleep” hotel with more than 10,000 ft2 of conference space. A national flag hotel chain (average ADR approx. $80) intends to develop a facility next to Menards. Chamber staff worked with the feasibility and research staff of the national chain to verify certain aspects of the Salina lodging market. The conversation with the Chamber confirmed their thinking about the Salina market; and they have closed on their purchase of the property. Visit Salina staff has confirmed the owner intends to start construction in 2015. The broker working with the owner of a “greenfield” retail location has been working with the Chamber to understand the demographics of the regional trade area to present them to prospects. A one acre retail development is planned with the possibility of increasing the project to a five acre development. The developers of Magnolia Commons have worked with Chamber staff and selected City of Salina staff to understand processes related to their continuing site development. Several prospects are considering the location. The developers of a proposed multi-family project for senior citizens have secured a contract to purchase and redevelop the former Penn campus owned by Salina Regional Health Center. They are currently working on project financing. The Chamber has provided market information. The prospective developer has met with City of Salina staff to understand process and procedures going forward. Page | 5 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Existing Business Visits During the first three quarters of 2014, site visits were made to the non local corporate headquarters of three different manufacturers. Growth projects listed in this report were discussed with corporate leaders. The meetings are helpful to affirm Salina has a location that welcomes the growth and retention of existing firms. Chamber staff and chamber volunteer leadership created a list of existing businesses to be visited in 2014. The following types of businesses where identified for a visit: Non-government employers with more than 75 employees Emerging employers (manufacturing, professional and retail) that are in the strong growth stage Businesses for whom a commercial building permit had been issued in the past year Businesses that provide economic development related financial support to the Chamber The businesses owned by members of the Chamber Board of Directors 150 existing business visits are planned for 2014. The visits will occur at Salina locations and with officials from regional or headquarter locations. At the end of the third quarter, approximately 135 business visits have been conducted. Existing business visits are to focus on five open ended questions. The following questions are asked: 1. 2. 3. 4. Is business up, down or about the same as compared to a year ago? What business related issue is keeping you up at night? What can the Chamber do to make Salina a more pro-business community for you? If you were new to Salina, what would you say is the best thing about operating your business here? 5. If you were new to Salina, what would you say is the most challenging thing about operating your business here? As the reports are complied, the confidential responses are forwarded to the Executive Director of the Salina Airport Authority, Salina Chamber of Commerce staff, a member of the Chamber Executive Committee and the realtor who assists with marketing of Salina Airport Authority properties. The Chamber debuted a programming called “12 @ 12” where a dozen chamber members that are small business owners are invited to lunch with at least three members of the Chamber executive committee. They are asked the same questions as above. Page | 6 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Project Open Third Quarter 2014 The Project Open entrepreneur development program continued to support new business start-up activity in addition to providing education and financial resources to existing employers. The key 2014 performance indicators are below: Page | 7 Business Contact Numbers: 18 people in the first quarter; 20 people in the second quarter; 25 additional in the third quarter of 2014. 48 of the people completed intake paperwork and 33 people completed entrepreneurial training in 2014. 78 businesses are on file for ongoing contact and continued assistance during 2014. Business Sectors and Assistance Categories: 18 new and 3 existing businesses. 2 businesses made applications in the first quarter both were asked to improve their applications and resubmit when they were ready. One business has resubmitted and has been awarded funds in the second quarter in the third quarter 5 applications were received - after review one was returned to the applicant for additional work the other four were reviewed and graded all were offered some funding. Two have completed their required closing paperwork and two are still in process. Business Classification by NACIS Code: Totals for all business so far this year 26 of the firms were classified as Retail, 18 were Service 1 manufacturing 3 not classified yet. Location of existing businesses: The 18 existing businesses are all located inside the city limits of Salina. The other proposed businesses are not started and no location has been determined. In the third quarter of 2014 - 4 businesses were awarded funds 1- received SEDIC grant funds; 3 received E-Community loans. At the end of the third quarter, two funding application decision are pending acceptance. The minority guided business assistance group continues to meet jointly with the economic development committee. A Spanish only four hour business plan training session was held on May 7 with 9 attendees. There were 5 businesses represented and three of them are moving forward with business plans. A minority project OPEN seminar meeting was held on June 28 with 21 attendees and 4 intake applications were received for additional follow up. The group has established a network of seven volunteers drawn from the existing minority business community and working within the Project OPEN framework. They will educate the market and otherwise introduce the Project OPEN assistance program to the different culturally diverse businesses that make up Salina and Saline County. Minority Business Assistance Committee Members Margaret Davison; Stephen Davison Lucy Corley; Bret Wallace Norma Wright Melissa Hodges Larry Powell 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Six business assistance training classes have been held in the third quarter of 2014 hosted by Linda Sutton; the SBA consultant that serves Saline County. Salina Military Affairs Council In the third quarter of 2014, work proceeded to refine the program of work for the position that provides staff support for the Salina Military Affairs Council. This occurred because of a vacancy in the staff position. A search to fill the vacancy began in the third quarter. The major programming change is to focus on recruiting military personnel to work in Salina after they complete military service. This activity will occur under the direction of the Chamber’s Workforce Development director. The revised and more focused Military Affairs Council’s program of work is now: Special Events These events are intended to increase awareness and strengthen ties between the civilian and military communities. Staff will work with volunteers to conduct the following events: Quarterly Military Affairs Council events o Winter luncheon o Spring formal dinner and dance o Summer luncheon o Fall luncheon Commanders Club. Commanders Club members can attend the quarterly Military Affairs Council events at no extra cost. Spring golf tournament to be held on Armed Forces Day in May. The purpose of this event is to raise money for committee expenses Fall golf tournament to be held in October. The purpose of this event is show appreciation to volunteers. Income for this event should cover event expenses but is not intended as a major fund raiser Poker Run This event occurs the last weekend in June and is a fund raiser for the Wounded Warrior Program Military Christmas Appreciation This event occurs the first or second Saturday of December KWU Military Appreciation Day The November 1, 2014 football game will include a veteran to participate in ceremonial coin toss in addition to a military color guard to present the colors. The possibility exists to have a similar and continuing presence at basketball games. Key Volunteers: Vern Hopkins, APAC-Kansas, Inc. Shears Division Vice-President LTC. Richard Fisher, GPJTC, Executive Officer & Training Center Commander Lacey Huffman, Det 1 184th IW, Smoky Hill ANG Range Production Control Page | 8 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Commanders Club This is a select group that works to facilitate communication and a working relationship between local business and military leaders. There are currently 40 members. Members can attend the winter, summer and fall luncheon at no charge. They are also invited to the Page | 9 spring formal dinner and dance. Members are invited to special Commanders Club only events with an important statewide military leader or Ft. Riley officials. These events should occur twice a year. Members are made aware of all other Salina Military Affairs Council events. Key Volunteers: Vern Hopkins, APAC-Kansas, Inc. Shears Division Vice-President Military Labor Recruitment Assist the workforce development director to increase recruitment of people with a military background to full time employment in Salina. Within first 30 days, create a strategic plan and review it quarterly for effectiveness. The plan should include: A review of best practices from communities that have successfully recruited military personnel. Relevant statistical information about Kansas military personnel Details about collateral printed and electronic communications detailing advantages of working in Salina List of targeted career/job fairs, including a plan to create an updated master calendar to be distributed to members of the Salina HR community. This list will include events at FT. Riley, in Salina and elsewhere. The plan will include recommendations about events that are unique to Salina and events in conjunction with other communities. A review of the various military hiring programs with a recommendation about which programs are best for Salina: o KansasWorks o The US Chamber of Commerce “Hiring Our Heroes” program o The Employer Support for the Guard & Reserve “Hero 2 Hired” program o USO’s “Hire Heroes USA” program Surveys to be conducted by the Salina business community and by military personnel. These will be used to fine tune the labor recruitment strategic plan 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Salina Military Emergency Relief Fund Military members and/or their families facing financial hardship are supported. They must live within a 50 mile radius of Salina and may apply for $500 only once annually. This fund was established by the late Charlie Walker and is utilized on average one to two times per month. The family assistance specialist for the KNG works with service members to complete applications. The Military Relief Fund Committee review applications and makes funding decisions. Key Volunteers: Kara Marlow (Local KNG Family Assistance Specialist) Dennis Lauver (Chamber President) Vern Hopkins (MAC Chair) LTC Richard Fisher Jim Maes (Compro Realty owner) Kansas National Guard Joining Community Forces regional/statewide meetings Work with others to provide a resource pool in Salina and Kansas for Military members and their families. In turn, the community and state’s outreach and awareness is increased, thus strengthening ties between the civilian and military communities during Military drawdown. Quarterly meetings occur with various organizations gathering to share information. Key Volunteers: Local o Melissa McCoy (Patriot Business Program Inc. President Regional o Kara Marlow(Local KNG Family Assistance Specialist) Statewide o Mary Nesbitt (KNG State Family Program Director & JCF Board President Page | 10 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Ft. Riley and Salina Relationship Building Various programs and activities are designed to strengthen the community partnership with Ft. Riley Army Adopt-A-School program. Service members provide leadership, mentoring, tutoring and then participate in various activities with students. At the start of each school year, a schedule Page | 11 should be created for the entire school year. Over 100 hours /month are contributed to the Salina st schools when no deployments have taken place. For example, the 601 Aviation Support Battalion of the Combat Aviation Brigade desires to continue programming with Schilling, Stewart and Sunset elementary schools, including a “Welcome Back to School” event on the first day of school. Combat Aviation Brigade community partnership events such as ceremonies, care package clinics, Trunk or Treat for military families. Key Volunteers: 601st Aviation Support Battalion o LTC Richard Martin, Fort Riley’s Combat Aviation Brigade, Battalion Commander, o Julie Martin, Commander’s wife USD 305 o Bill Hall (superintendent) o Stan Vaughn (student support services) o Deborah Howard (admin. Asst. to Bill Hall) o Jennifer Bradford (public affairs) SJMS o Andy England o George Stelljes o CAB Connection is TBD Central High School o Shanna Rector o Greg Maring o MAJ. Patton (Fort Riley’s CAB, 601st ASB) o CAB Connection TBD KWU o Matt Drinkall (head football coach) o Jan Shirk (president’s administrative assistant) o CAB Connection TBD Oakdale o Carmen Flax (principal) o LTC Richard Fisher (KNG GPJTC Commander) o SSG Patrick Stapleton o Lacey Huffman Stewart o Deanna Ryberg (principal) o CPT Cody Holder (Fort Riley’s CAB, 601st ASB) o 1LT David Sumpter (Fort Riley’s CAB, 601st ASB) Sunset o Lonny Schropp (principal) o Jerri Smith (asst.) o CAB Connection TBD 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Schilling o Darrell Burgoon (principal) o Dawn Brady (asst.) o CPT Pleuss (Fort Riley’s CAB, 601st ASB) Salina Military Affairs Council programming that will continue with non staff support Operation Bigs, Mentoring Military Youth Program Provide support to military children by either a civilian or military member during their parent’s deployment. Six Bigs and Littles are currently matched in this program that provides support to Military children by either a civilian or military member. Key Volunteers: Michelle Peck (Director of BBBS) Heather Murdock (program coordinator) Misc. programming Increase awareness of ties between the civilian and military communities locally and strengthen the relationship. Community partnered initiatives/events include the KNG Adjutant General’s Physical Fitness Challenge, Easter Egg Hunt, Candy Canes & Airplane and Girl Scouts Cookie Share Program. Key Volunteers: TBA, a volunteer to coordinate with the partnering entities and create aware of the activity with the MAC, public and the media. Patriot Business Program Continue to grow this program across the community and the state by working with the Joining Community Forces initiative in conjunction with various military and local chambers of commerce partners. More than 300 businesses are participating statewide, with the majority of them in Salina. This initiative includes the Patriot Business Shopping Month activity in June. The Patriot Service Member, Patriot Business of the Month recognition efforts are intended to recognize individuals for their service, and increase the awareness of the military affairs committee, the Patriot Business Program and local participating Patriot Businesses. Once a month, two individuals and a business are recognized for their contribution to the Military. Marketing distribution methods are as follows: social media (MAC/PBP/Chamber), Chamber newsletter and during the spring at Salina Bomber’s home games. Key Volunteers: Melissa McCoy, Salina Airport Authority Public Affairs Manager & Patriot Business Program Board President. Page | 12 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Community Development Support SeaPort Airlines, the scheduled air service provider in Salina Once reservation systems improvements have been made to allow direct booking of flights to/from Salina, marketing plans will be implemented to help increase enplanements. Page | 13 Create a regional transload facility in a rail served industrial park KDOT is interested in creating a regional transload facility based in a rail served industrial park. This can be a facility that will assist existing and future employers to gain supply chain efficiencies in addition to a potential location for new business attraction. The Salina market lacks shovel ready sites that are rail served. Workforce Development Several initiatives moved forward in the second quarter to improve the long term ability of Salina employers to find the quantity and quality of employees they need. 1. Provide organization support and initiate new programming for Salina Area Young Professionals Current 2014 membership in SAYP is at 250 members. The 2014 and 2015 State of Kansas Young Professionals convention will be in Salina. A planning crew is working to organize the event. The 2015 Kansas YP Summit will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at the Salina Bicentennial Center with keynote speaker Jason Roberts. The theme is “Your Community, Your Vision!” and is geared at getting young professionals more engaged in volunteer leadership here their communities. SAYP is led by a 6 member advisory council which oversees four volunteer leadership crews which consists of between 3 – 8 individuals. The SAYP President has been invited to attend Chamber of Commerce board meetings. SAYP has created and hosts a “Community Board Leadership Training” series and through this process assists non-profits by matching young professionals to volunteer leadership opportunities in the community. Two training session have been completed and a roster of over 30 potential volunteer leaders has been distributed to the local non-profits and other organizations. Created and currently maintain SAYP website. A book club and discussion group focused on leadership has been organized by SAYP. The group will meet quarterly. The books for 2014 are: i. Leading Change by John P. Kotter ii. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull iii. Intrinsic Motivation by Kenneth W. Thomas iv. The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 2. Conduct a Salina Recruiting Consortium An eight member committee with HR personnel from both public and private sectors has been meeting twice a year to develop strategies regarding community wide recruitment efforts. The group has developed community customized tours program for people being recruited to Salina. They have also recreated a Salina relocation landing page on the chamber’s website. The group has developed a trailing spouse program for people being recruited to Salina to help find career opportunities for trailing partners coming to the community. Working with Ft. Riley contacts to create more visibility for Salina employers with active duty soldiers so when they separate they are aware of Salina and the opportunities that exist in Saline County. Provide leadership on the Employee Development Transition Project. Chamber staff is providing oversight of four groups (Steering, SATC, USD 305 and Employers) as they progress toward fall 2015 approval of an articulation agreement between USD 305 and STAC. The groups include businesses people and educators that also are detailing a system to move SATC grads into the Salina workplace. A five year plan was accepted by the USD 305 Board of Education to adopt three new Career and Technical Education Pathways. Manufacturing; Construction and STEM (Project Lead the Way). These pathways were direct results of the feedback received from the business and industry representatives. Chamber staff and other key business and industry representatives are currently part of the CTE planning team working on specific upgrades to curriculum and facilities associated with the USD 305 bond project. Significant facility improvements have been made at Salina Central High School and at Salina Area Technical College. The private sector provided significant financial support to make these projects. Also as part of the feedback, SATC decided to expand and double their welding program to better reflect the need for trained welders in the community. Chamber staff assisted with a grant and numerous businesses in the community donated to the expansion. Brown Mackie Salina has begun enrolling students in their certified welding program. Chamber staff in conjunction with community business and industry representatives have met and identified CDL level over the road and local drivers as a high workforce need now and in the immediate future. The chamber has contracted with Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) to conduct a strategic focusing study to identify problems and potential solutions. A grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce is fully funding MAMTC’s work on the project. The Kansas Motor Carrier Association and the American Trucking Association (led by former Kansas Governor and Salina native Bill Graves) are providing support, expertise and encouragement. SATC recently announced that they will begin offering a 5 week Truck Driving Training Course in the spring of 2015. There has been significant funding and support from the private sector regarding this effort. Page | 14 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 Chamber staff in conjunction with Dr. Mark Jackson from KSU-Salina and approximately twenty community business and industry engineering representatives have met and identified engineering technology as a high workforce need. Moving forward the chamber will work Dr. Jackson to facilitate new and more formal partnerships between KSU-Salina’s ET department and industry to assist with creating new and different opportunities for KSU students and faculty to get hands on experience with local employers. A working group of six private sector Page | 15 businesses will follow up with chamber staff and KSU-Salina staff to work on this project. Facilitated and helped start the Career Healthcare Exploring Program at Salina Regional Health Center. Over 80 interested students and parents attended the orientation with 38 signing up to go through the 10 month course. 3. Implement the “Kansas WorkReady Community/County” concept as an independent tool to help validate the credentials of potential employees. The Central Kansas WorkReady Corridor is a five county consortium whose mission is to be an economic development catalyst striving to ensure business and industry in our region has the skilled workforce to succeed. The consortium is a collaboration of educators, government, and business and industry entities from Saline, Harvey, Marion, Reno and McPherson counties. The job-seekers and students from this area will be strongly encouraged to obtain their National Career Readiness certification through the KansasWorks office. This independent credential will quantify the skills of the region’s workforce and we can use this information to compete in the economic development arena, engage employers in utilizing WorkReady certification of applicants to screen/validate skill levels, enhance the marketability of individuals who hold certificates for work and future educational endeavors, evaluate skills gaps based on skills assessments and provide opportunities to develop and deliver remediation in preparation for work or additional education and training. It will also be used to quantify the skills of the region’s workforce and use this information to compete in the economic development arena, engage employers in utilizing WorkReady certification of applicants screen/validate skill levels, enhance the marketability of individuals who hold certificates for work and future educational endeavors, evaluate skills gaps based on skills assessments and provide opportunities to develop and deliver remediation in preparation for work or additional education and training. Salina Area Technical College and the local KS Works office will play pivotal roles to ensure that the WorkKeys testing is available to the job seeker and that the database of job seekers is readily available to interested parties. Weekly testing dates have been finalized for the Salina community; WorkReady testing block will be every Thursday at Salina Area Technical College. 3rd Quarter Activity Accomplishments & Outcomes 2014 All marketing materials have been finalized. Business and industry meetings are now occurring. Locally, a comprehensive WorkReady presentation was made in mid-September to the local chapter of the Salina Human Resource Management Association. A Salina business and industry forum will be scheduled for the first quarter of 2014 to present to local employers about this powerful tool and ask for champions for this process. In 2014, the human resources Page | 16 management associations from Hutchinson, McPherson and Salina will also present this information to their constituents regarding utilizing this valuable tool at their business. An interactive county map has been created that allows interested parties to view each county’s WorkReady certificates by level of attainment. 4. Support stretched employers by participating in specific occupation recruitment efforts. a. Chamber staff plans to attend at least 4 jobs fairs, workforce fairs, career fairs, college fairs, etc. in 2014. 5. Increase the number of people completing the Manufacturing Skills Certificate Program with Salina Area Technical College by targeting recent high schools grads that are unemployed or underemployed. a. Salina Area Technical College staff is preparing the update after receiving business community input. Updated curriculum has been finalized and once SATC has secured an instructor, placement of underemployed and unemployed individuals will begin screened through KansasWorks will begin. 6. Work with USD 305’s School to Career program by placing students in internships and job shadowing opportunities. Chamber staff coordinates scheduling and placements of high school students that are undergoing a job shadow experience.
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