Page 66 - FDI Alliance International Magazine | September 2018 1

Workforce Training Is Job #1 in the

Joplin, Missouri region

BY ROB O’BRIAN

Thirty-four years ago, when I first began my career in was in a heavily auto industry dependent city in an new facility was built. The opportunity to acquire and
economic development, the focus was on industrial auto industry dependent state. Unemployment was use the classroom and training infrastructure already
development and, more specifically, on attraction of in double-digits and was a high as twenty percent. put into the building became a priority for the four
companies. To be in the game seemingly required There were plenty of people who needed jobs and organizations as a means to address needs in ad-
only a few key attributes: a good-sized tract of land the mission was focused on getting jobs to that area. vanced manufacturing and IT.
that could be utility served; a major state highway Today, I am in a metro area that has been success-
or, even better, an Interstate; reliable power and an ful, still, in manufacturing but also in medical and The Chamber became the lead organization in
available, inexpensive labor force. Of course the transportation services. The unemployment rate is working with the City to access disaster recovery
community that wanted to attract new industry had around 3%, lower that the nation and Missouri and funds for acquisition and updating of the building.
some organization that was in charge of “industrial yet still higher than other places around U.S. The The funds were also used for equipping the facility.
development”. Times have changed. mission now is finding people to fill those jobs. Our The Workforce Innovation Board moved its adminis-
population is growing, but not fast enough to fill the trative offices to the facility and the Chamber retained
Economic development is, and should be, more jobs available. Part of the solution is to bring high- use of the rest of the building. Going into its sec-
broadly defined and yet also more nuanced to what er skill level training for the existing and developing ond year of operation, the ATTC is a multi-purpose
a community needs, wants and can sustain. Entre- workforce in our area for the past several years. training and business support facility the addresses
preneurship, small business development, business workforce needs in a variety of ways.
attraction, tourism, health care, information tech- A key step forward in aligning training in our area
nology; the list of where and how communities and was creation of the Advanced Training and Tech- Crowder utilizes 30,000 sq. ft. to provide training in
regions can build their economic base is extensive. nology Center in the heart of Joplin. This facility is advanced manufacturing skills, including industrial
At the same time, as the global and national econo- a partnership among the Joplin Area Chamber of maintenance and robotics, advanced welding, infor-
mies continue to evolve, local economies see the im- Commerce Foundation, Crowder College, Work- mation and network technology and computer-aid-
pact and communities need to be able to respond. force Innovation Board and the City of Joplin. The ed drafting. This training is certification oriented al-
One major area that cuts across all sectors is having 51,000 sq. ft. operation is in a former warehouse lowing students, whether already working or entering
an available and skilled workforce. that, after the 2011 tornado, became the home of the workforce, to upgrade their skills. For employers,
At the time I began in economic development I the high school technical training programs while a it provides a source of high-quality, focused training

66 FDI ALLIANCE | SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2018