Displaying items tagged: talent

BIG RAPIDS — With recent approval to begin construction on a new facility, Ferris State University will eventually have a new home for a variety of degree programs while helping the school to develop more dynamic and effective methods of online learning.

West Michigan community colleges saw thousands of applications through the Futures for Frontliners program unveiled by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year to cover tuition for workers deemed essential during COVID-19 shutdown orders.

As state employment forecasts show more than three-quarters of the top 50 high-demand, high-paying jobs in Michigan through 2028 require at least a four-year degree, public financial support for Michigan universities lags many other states.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has sent two proposed budget plans to state lawmakers this year that maintain or expand funding for skilled trades training as well as introduce new talent development programs.

When coaching business leaders about concepts like talent development and growing an operation from the ground up, Elizabeth Rolinski has the professional experience that commands credibility. Rolinski spent more than a decade working in lithium-ion battery operations at Johnson Controls International PLC and later for Clarios, a former subsidiary that spun out of the international conglomerate and is now a subsidiary of Brookfield Business Partners.

Advocates for people with disabilities are hopeful that the work from home trend spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic will make employers more open to accommodations workers might need in a post-pandemic workplace.

ALLENDALE — Grand Valley State University has announced a new tuition-free program for low-income students in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, Grand Traverse, Calhoun and Wayne counties.

MUSKEGON — Even before colleges started offering curricula centered on cybersecurity, Susan Rhem-Westhoff was exploring that realm with her students at the Muskegon Area Career Tech Center.

Davenport University has appointed Amy Mansfield as the new dean of the Donald W. Maine College of Business and the College of Technology.

KALAMAZOO — The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is one of just 14 small art museums across the country to receive significant grant funding for maintaining operations as COVID-19 challenges continue.

Like many in higher education, Western Michigan University moved fast to shift thousands of classes online when the COVID-19 pandemic hit this spring. Some of the changes made during the crisis will stick, according to President Edward Montgomery, who joined WMU in 2017. Montgomery served as chief economist and deputy labor secretary in President Bill Clinton’s administration and was also on President Barack Obama’s auto task force. Prior to joining WMU, he was the founding dean and professor of economics at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.

COMSTOCK PARK — The West Michigan Whitecaps have moved one spot closer to the Detroit Tigers within a shifting hierarchy of Minor League Baseball.

KALAMAZOO — After originally planning to kick off the 2020-21 season on Jan. 15, the Kalamazoo Wings today announced that it will suspend operations and forgo the entire year of hockey.

Talent gaps and workforce shortages are two issues that have dogged the manufacturing industry for years, pushing Michigan companies and their supporting organizations to develop a more robust talent pipeline in Michigan.

Initiatives at Grand Valley State University and Davenport University seek to help veterans earn a college degree after their military service.

West Michigan’s construction industry has long faced a talent shortage fueled by a worker exodus during the 2008 recession, stigma around going into skilled trades, and firms failing to recruit a diverse workforce. 

College students graduating this fall or next spring should expect to face a softer job market than in the past several years as a result of the pandemic-related economic downturn.

The nomination period has opened for the 8th annual M&A Deals & Dealmaker Awards from MiBiz. 

A  global mixed martial arts organization with direct ties to West Michigan is poised to return from a years-long hiatus on Nov. 11 with a night of fights in Atlanta.

BIG RAPIDS — Ferris State University has landed a nearly $670,000 federal grant to expand virtual-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programming for rural high school students.

It’s not enough to announce diversity, equity and inclusion hiring commitments, it takes leadership teams that reflect more cultures.

GRAND RAPIDS — The city of Grand Rapids is developing an inclusion program meant to encourage the contracting of minority-owned, women-owned and micro-local businesses in projects involving public investment through tax incentives. 

Keli Christopher founded the Grand Rapids-based nonprofit STEM Greenhouse six years ago to help K-12 students — in particular, children of color — along an academic path more comfortable than she experienced. As the first Black person to receive a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from the University of Illinois, Christopher endured a challenging and isolated path through higher education. Her mission now is to increase students’ exposure to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the greater Grand Rapids area, where she still sees a diversity gap in STEM education. Earlier this month, Christopher was a featured speaker at the Southeast Grand Rapids Community and Economic Development Conference hosted by the Grand Rapids African-American Community Task Force. In an interview with MiBiz, Christopher discussed inequities in the nonprofit sector as well as the ongoing barriers to engaging more non-white students in STEM education.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today rolled out a $24 million initiative to provide tuition for workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic who lack a secondary education and want to earn an associate’s degree or professional certification.

GRAND RAPIDS — Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. is reallocating $50,000 it initially budgeted for ArtPrize 2020 toward a new event tentatively planned for September. 

GRAND RAPIDS — After considering modifications to enable more social distancing and focus on outdoor spaces, the ArtPrize board of directors announced today it was canceling this year’s event as the nonprofit re-evaluates its future.

KALAMAZOO — The founding dean at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo plans to retire early next year.

Originally scheduled to kick off the 2020 season on April 9, the West Michigan Whitecaps remain in limbo along with 140 other Minor League Baseball teams across the country.

ALLENDALE — Grand Valley State University raised $130 million in the Laker Effect capital campaign.

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids Community College is one of 20 colleges nationwide to receive a grant from the United States Department of Labor to provide at-risk youth with job skills training and other educational opportunities.