Quality counts: Conference merges education, work force By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer
Friday, October 10, 2008 1:07 AM PDT
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
FROM LEFT: Cheryl Viegas-Walker says Rabobank is looking for employees who are “ambitious, analytical and unafraid of making changes” during a workforce conference Thursday in Holtville. Luis Plancarte answered that Western Mesquite Mines is looking for workers who are diligent and well-prepared.
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
An audience of educators and community leaders laughs when Rabobank’s Cheryl Viegas-Walker remarks that “now is an interesting time to be a banker.”
HOLTVILLE — Central Union High School District Superintendent Thomas Budde posed the question: Which comes first, a better work force or better jobs?
It was his chicken-and-egg analogy that described in a nutshell the Education and Workforce Conference here Thursday hosted by the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corp., the Imperial County Workforce Development Board and the P-16 Council.
“This is an opportunity for the business community and the education community to talk about mutual interests and what we can do to better each,” Budde said. “They’re interested in a quality work force. Ours is having quality jobs.
“In the Imperial Valley, even though it provides a quality living environment,” he said, “it doesn’t provide the types of jobs that some people are looking for and will keep students here.”
Budde is the immediate past president of the P-16 Council, which is an organization of education and business leaders focused on promoting a college-going atmosphere in Imperial County.
During Thursday’s conference Christina Moore, director of external affairs for AT&T, presented the P-16 Council with a $34,000 donation to go toward its summer academic academies.
The summer academic academies provide specialized opportunities for students entering ninth grade to increase mathematic skills. They also allow students and their parents to learn more about college.
The conference’s emcee, Randy Taylor, senior branch manager at Rabobank in El Centro, said the event was beneficial in bringing together the education and business sectors to work in a combined effort.
He said it was mentioned Thursday and has been said often that business owners want to keep the “best and brightest” locally.
“I disagree with that. We want to keep all that we have,” he said. “We want to give everyone an opportunity to fulfill their goals.
“But in order to do that we need to have an educated work force,” he said.
Sam Couchman, director of the Imperial Valley Workforce Development Office, said the conference is a good first step in bringing together businesses, education representatives and those involved in the local work force.
“We need to work more collaboratively to get people employed in Imperial County,” Couchman said. “We want to meet the needs of businesses by educating our future work force.”
He said that has been a problem previously as most people, “have been concerned with their little niches.”
“I think people are realizing now that we’re in a changing phase,” he said. “We’ve reached a point where people can’t do it on their own anymore.
“We need educational input. We need business input,” he said. “Due to changes, I think we’ve gotten to this point and this is a good first step.”
" It seems evident that in the Imperial Valley NEPOTISM is the ubiquitious employment practice for a lot of firms and government agecies (i.e. ICOE and County of Imperial). It is a good start for these organizations to have organized this event and convey what could be the genesis of a great process, which is to hire qualified and educated people of the community and not incompetent hirees whom are employed due to some relation or social cohort. "
msantana wrote on Oct 10, 2008 10:13 AM:
" So many employers in the Valley have such unfair hiring practices. They say they prefer employees with an education but they dont practice this. Employers like to hire people just because they know them or because someone else knows them. This is unfair. Qualified candidates should be given a chance. I know of people who have work experience and a degree that cant even get a good job. This happens a lot in public agencies like the local State Prisons. You can go to SPB and read the job requirements/specifications and a lot of the jobs require a BA or at least and MA but I know for a fact that many people who have these jobs dont even have an AA. You would think employers would want the most qualified person for the job. NOT here in the Valley! "
conniev68 wrote on Oct 10, 2008 9:56 AM:
" Creating dialogue between the business and education communities is a great first step. The IV city governments, local businesses, and education communities collectively need to sit around the table and discuss economic development and the importance of creating industries the region can support. The local skilled workforce needed to support those industries will be built by partnerships of our local Community Colleges, Higher Eds and Adult Education/ROP programs. The potential lives in every member of the community whether they realize it or not, but the opportunities and ideals need to be initiated to support all the potential the IV has.
~Valley girl at Heart "
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cu011036 wrote on Oct 10, 2008 7:55 PM: