Cochise County, Arizona’s Daily Dispatch reports that Cochise College and Cochise County Workforce Development One-Stop Centers are working together to bring recruit workers for healthcare employers in their region. Read the article here. Their work drew the attention of state’s Department of Education, who awarded them a significant grant to aid the project. They’re drawing primarily [...]

Maher & Maher, Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI) and FutureWork Systems (FWS) today jointly announced the Regional Workforce Intelligence project, a strategic technical assistance solution for regional planning based on WIRED principles. Drawing on the unique expertise of each partner, the Regional Workforce Intelligence solution builds regions through strong project management, expanded social networking, integrated [...]

The Census Bureau has launched a new site to create public awareness for the upcoming 2007 Economic Census. The site houses industry snapshots for featured industries, encouragements for businesses to fill out the census forms when they get them, and other things.
The “other thing” that sparked our interest was in the “Industry Ratios” reports, which link over to the [...]

The South Florida Business Journal reports that the Sunshine State has brought their already formidable 2006 10th place ranking for their workforce training programs up to number 3 in a 2007 poll by Expansion Management. The study bases the ranking on the opinions of more than 80 site selectors across the nation. Georgia ranked #1 [...]

The Northern Virgina Workforce Investment Board’s SkillSource Group, in partnership with Dr. Kenneth Poole of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (affiliated with C2ER), has completed an 18-month BRAC impact study for the area in and around Fort Belvoir and Quantico Marine Base.
EMSI’s Strategic Advantage provided the “heavy-lifting” economic modeling, including the estimates of workforce [...]

This article recently published in the Community College Times demonstrates how colleges can use CCbenefits’ Socioeconomic Impact (SEIM) study to demonstrate the real value they bring to their communities. The major example is Housatonic CC in Bridgeport, CT.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the launch of a third competition for President Bush’s Community-Based Job Training Grants. Public and tribal community and technical colleges, community college districts, state community college systems and One-Stop Career Centers will compete for awards totaling approximately $125 million.
Read the DOLETA press release.

Fast Company recently highlighted Southwest Michigan First, an economic development group out of Kalamazoo Michigan that was included in this year’s Fast 50 lineup.
They are acknowledged in this article for their innovative response to Pfizer closing down their local R & D branch in 2003. Fearing scientists would leave the area without job opportunities, they [...]

EMSI has completed a cluster analysis report on the wine industry in Washington State’s Walla Walla valley, which is booming thanks to smart economic development strategies and the local college’s Institute for Enology and Viticulture. The area is one of the nation’s hottest emerging appellations, producing wines with consistently high ratings and drawing an increasing [...]

Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. (EMSI) is pleased to announce that the governing board of the States’ Career Cluster Initiative has endorsed EMSI as a preferred product provider. The decision follows EMSI’s recent upgrade to its web-based economic analysis suite, Strategic Advantage (SA). The States’ Career Clusters Initiative is backed by the National Association of State [...]