Last summer, EMSI completed a study of the Walla Walla region’s wine production and tourism cluster. Recently the Wall Street Journal ran this article that focuses on the leadership of Walla Walla Community College, which is arguably responsible for the industry’s rapid growth and which has sparked numerous similar programs at other community colleges across [...]

The Advisory Committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy—which is backed by the Commerce department and includes leaders of industry heavyweights such as Microsoft, 3M, IBM, UPS, and Wal-Mart—has released its first report on innovation metrics.
Among their recommendations are that federal agencies (Commerce, Labor, Census, IRS) step-up data sharing to improve [...]

The Nashville Chamber of Commerce recently released an extensive study of the area’s labor market written by the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (download report materials here; read the press release here). The report covers population, industry, and occupation trends and forecasts for the greater Nashville area, in addition to a labor market supply/demand analysis [...]

Read the full story here.
A new study shows Western Iowa Tech Community College annually contributes more than $308 million to the Siouxland economy, equal to about 5.5 percent of the region’s total income.
“The report confirms the indispensable role that WITCC plays in the regional economy,” WITCC President Dr. Robert Dunker said. “And, what is [...]

Grant County EDC in Moses Lake, Washington is an excellent example of a rural county that has excelled in recruiting a diverse mix of innovative high-tech and manufacturing firms.
Grant County EDC has met this challenge head-on with an approach that combines ambitious goals, commitment to infrastructure improvements, and detailed understanding of the region’s economy. That’s [...]

On the heels of last week’s STEM Training & Employment Notice, the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration has announced $10 million in competitive grants for workforce boards to develop STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) initiatives. More information is available on grants.gov under funding opportunity #SGA-DFA-PY-07-03. Phase I applications are due March 11, [...]

After last year’s placement on the Inc. 5000 list, Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. has been recognized as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies.
EMSI’s achievement was recently publicized in Forbes magazine on the “Awards Report” page produced by Dallas-based Chorley Publishing.
“We’d like to thank all of our customers for their loyalty, feedback, and support, which has [...]

Broome Community College in New York has released the results of an EMSI impact study that concludes the college has a $290 million impact on the regional and state economy.
“This report details the role that the college plays in promoting economic development, enhancing students’ careers, and improving the overall quality of life,” said Dr. Spraggs. [...]

The Department of Labor’s Employment & Training Administration recently released a Training and Employment Notice titled “Building and Sustaining an Educated and Prepared STEM Workforce.” The notice provides a short introduction to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) occupations, along with the federal workforce system’s role in fostering it.
With that context, here at EMSI we [...]

Here’s a sampling of workforce, education, and economic development news from the holidays:

Dept. of Labor / Employment and Training Administration plans to examine the net impact of WIA Title I programs (link)
“Bio-science” gains a foothold in Ohio (link)
Large workforce gap looms in North Carolina (link)
Oklahoma releases Employer Survey Report (link)
Are economic impact studies good [...]