Tupelo Workers Get Training for High-Tech Jobs and More
education, high-tech, jobs, toyota, training, university of mississippi-tupelo,
When the human resources manager at Cooper Tire needs training programs for the company’s 1‚500 employees‚ he knows just where to turn.
Like other Tupelo businesses‚ Cooper Tire – the world’s ninth-ranked tire producer – is a frequent user of the work force development programs offered through a consortium partnership of the Community Development Foundation and Itawamba Community College.
“We’ve received a tremendous amount of training in lean manufacturing‚ plus computer training and soft skills such as time management‚ motivation and leadership. It’s low cost and very convenient‚” says Cooper Tire’s Terry Jarzen.
Jarzen’s comments are music to the ears of Todd Beadles‚ director of work force development for the CDF‚ and his chief collaborator at ICC‚ Denise Gillespie.
Beadles says the consortium enables companies to take maximum advantage of available state workforce dollars. The state funds require at least five employees to be trained at each program‚ which could be a burden for many smaller companies. But the CDF markets the training to its entire membership‚ drawing at least one or two from several companies to meet and exceed the five-person minimum.
“It’s industry-driven‚” Beadles says. “We’re in constant contact with business and industry‚ and when people request courses we try to accommodate them.”
The partnership with ICC is critical because they provide the trainers for as many as 40 to 50 courses per semester. So far‚ the consortium partnership has enabled more than 6‚000 workers to upgrade their skills‚ while keeping costs very affordable for all interested companies.
Gillespie agrees and says the community college could not justify a class for just one or two people. With more companies involved‚ the training becomes practical and inexpensive. Training is a fact of life in today’s global economy.
“We have to promote lifelong learning‚ whether it’s at the workplace or at the individual level‚” she says.
At Cooper Tire‚ Jarzen notes that lean manufacturing‚ in particular‚ is a long-term process of cultural change that requires considerable employee involvement.
The CDF’s workforce development program includes two programs‚ Mississippi Scholars and Drop-Out Prevention‚ which involve sending business people to meet with targeted eighth-graders. The purpose is to impress upon the young people the importance of attaining higher levels of education than their parents or grandparents may have needed‚ because of the types of jobs now available.
Beadles also coordinates the e-Synchronist program‚ a structured business and industry visitation program that includes an extensive questionnaire that identifies problems‚ challenges and opportunities that local companies may be experiencing.
By inputting this information into a database‚ the CDF can gauge perceptions from local industry‚ as well as the perceptions of their corporate headquarters‚ about how Tupelo/Lee County measures up as a place to do business.
The CDF also just launched a major new program to provide training geared to employees of the furniture manufacturing industry. Supported by a federal Department of Labor grant‚ Mississippi State University and ICC‚ this program provides specialized training to help ensure the future competitiveness of furniture manufacturers‚ providing on-site training in such subjects as leadership‚ communication‚ workplace design and ergonomics‚ to companies in 17 counties.
Story by Jim Elliott
Photo by Woodie Knight
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