Displaying items tagged: talent

ALLENDALE — Grand Valley State University has expanded its tuition-free program to all qualifying students in Michigan, reaching beyond the original six counties announced in early 2021. 

From workforce shortages and supply chain snags to rising costs of raw materials, the manufacturing industry has certainly faced a multi-pronged set of issues throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As a company that manufactures metal products and assemblies, Grandville-based Jireh Metal Products Inc. was certainly not immune. MiBiz caught up with President and CEO Michael Davenport to learn how the pandemic has shaped the way Jireh will do business in the future.

Tyler Kutt took the reins of Grand Rapids-based web and mobile app developer Grand Apps at the beginning of 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to disrupt life and the economy. Prior to purchasing the company with longtime employee Brandon Ross, Kutt served as head of marketing for the business. With five employees that have been working remotely since the pandemic began, Kutt spoke with MiBiz about COVID-inspired lessons he has learned so far in his tenure as co-owner. 

Shannon Cohen works through her consulting firm, Shannon Cohen Inc., to help companies across a range of industries improve leadership practices around equity and wellness. But Cohen wears many hats as an author, podcaster and owner of a product line called Tough Skin, Soft Heart, as well as the leader of the Rockstar Woman Brunch Experience. Cohen shared her insights on the labor challenges many industries face right now, and some of the ways companies have found success in leadership practices during the pandemic.

About 500 people have gone through leadership coaching offered by Leading by Design, a Zeeland-based business that Rodger Price formed in January 2014 to groom a new generation of business leaders in West Michigan and help existing executives improve. Believing the region can become a “hotbed of the best leaders in the country,” Price aims to graduate 1,000 people from the year-long program by 2027. He recently spoke with MiBiz about his outlook on future leaders.

Brent Gibson, president of Grand Rapids-based Construction Simplified, said his leadership has been tested by COVID-19 and all of its repercussions for the construction industry, but he believes the pandemic has made him a better leader. Gibson has found that clear communication with his team has been a crucial aspect to leading effectively. In a year filled with many obstacles for the construction industry, Construction Simplified is branching out into new projects, planning to grow its small firm of 10 people, and move into a new office space. 

Last month, Autocam Medical Devices LLC graduated its fourth class of CNC machinist apprentices under a program that’s meant to lure young professionals to the skilled trades. John C. Kennedy, president and CEO of the contract manufacturer of medical devices, is using the program to grow his talent pipeline while the company is on the verge of a major expansion. Autocam Medical is in the process of building an additional 100,000-square-foot facility in Kentwood that will support 250 new jobs and roughly double the company’s workforce. Kennedy recently talked with MiBiz about building a talent pool amid an ongoing skilled trades shortage, as well as his leadership principles that helped guide the company through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has issued more than $2 million in grants designed to build a more robust pipeline between adult education and workforce training programs and local businesses that are looking to hire.

College seniors graduating this winter or next spring can expect a stronger job market than last year as they seek to join the workforce.

GRAND RAPIDS — When Michelle Olson joined Lambert & Co. in 2019, she knew what she wanted to do for the integrated marketing, public relations and investor relations firm.

Businesses in all industry sectors are exhausting potential avenues for talent as they struggle to fill their workforces. Many employers have finally turned their attention to a demographic that Wendy Falb has promoted for decades.

Kevin Farhat has a fully staffed Garage Bar & Grill near downtown Grand Rapids, and he’s hired about 30 more people to work at a new location opening soon in Ada.

Women have been slower than men to return to the workforce over the past year and a half. They are more often held back by childcare complications from the pandemic and are likely being dissuaded from returning to frontline positions with low pay.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Trina Edmondson rarely got calls from employers interested in hiring a person with a disability.

Seneca Powers took a familiar path among young professionals born and raised in West Michigan who left town with professional aspirations. She’s also part of the demographic that the region must lure back to meet its long-term workforce needs.

Jessa Challa’s interest in geographic information system (GIS) mapping led her to start working in 2019 as a software engineer at Grand Rapids-based tech firm Mallowfields LLC. In September, she became CEO of the company.

Tim Gortsema refers to last year’s American Hockey League season as “the stubby season.”

On Sept. 20, Ken James will move to a newly created administrative role at Muskegon Community College to help lead the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy. To James, that means serving four distinct constituencies: students, faculty and staff, the community at large, and businesses.

Jen Bradshaw had a difficult time finding software and application developers even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.

As the new class of students arrived at Northview Next this year, they may have noticed some new advanced manufacturing training tools. 

Michigan’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion and submission rates decreased for the second year in a row by nearly 5 percent, indicating lower college enrollment and ongoing challenges for the already sparse talent pipeline. 

Deliberations in Lansing over a new state budget will decide whether a state-backed initiative to increase the number of new doctors serving in rural and underserved markets across Michigan can expand next year.

Muskegon Community College President Dale Nesbary plans to retire at the end of the coming academic year. Nesbary is set to retire in June 2022, ending 12 years as president of MCC and 44 years in higher education and research.

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has received a $10 million federal grant that will go toward an apprenticeship program for more than 1,640 workers.

As an entrepreneur, Matt Baxter acknowledges that opportunities like the one in front of him rarely come along.

Art collecting is often seen as only accessible to people willing to invest substantial funds, and an activity generally reserved for the extremely wealthy.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Cornerstone University board of trustees announced today that it has named Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño as the 12th president in the private, faith-based school’s history.

Dr. Joe Stowell presided over his last commencement at Cornerstone University on May 8 after more than a decade overseeing substantial campus growth and investment. In his 13-year tenure, Cornerstone invested millions of dollars in new campus facilities and expanded program offerings, including the new $3.5 million Mary De Witt Center of Nursing in April and a planned bachelor of science in nursing.

Ryan Bennett used to be bothered by apprentices staring at their phones while on the job. Now, he lets it slide.

GRAND RAPIDS — After an economically grim 2020, Grand Rapids event and entertainment officials say they’re optimistic about pent-up demand, COVID-19 vaccines and a new standard of hybrid in-person and virtual programs.