The eConference provides business owners the change to learn what other organizations are doing to be more green while saving some “green” while networking with others who have implemented green practices or are in the process.  Citizens can gather insights about what businesses and schools are doing to go green, discover available (or new) green products, and get ideas for things to do at home.  The eConference also targets educators to incorporate green ideas in the classroom, teaching what is relevant to the real world.

As one of the eConference sponsors, the WIB is preparing a breakout session titled, Regional Trends and Hiring Activities for Local Green Jobs.  The session examines the latest employment numbers in green-oriented occupations. strategies to expand green economic development, and cross-state linkages with neighboring states in the Heartland 411 partnership.

• Official eConference Website and Registration Links
• eConference Agenda with sessions and topics (PDF)

Companies to benefit from the training include:

• Cassville
  • Arning Canopy Systems
• Greenfield
  • Pennington Seed
• Goodman
  • Global Metal Solutions
  • Global Therm
• Joplin
  • Bemis
  • Carpe Diem Management, Inc.
  • Certain Teed Corporation
  • Cliffstar Corporation
  • Eagle Picher
  • General Mills
  • Hampshire Pet Products
  • Lozier Corporation
  • Mid American Precision Products
  • Midcon Cables
  • Modine Manufacturing
  • MSW,  Inc.
  • Protein Solutions
  • Rock Teen Converting
  • Schaeffler Group (FAG Brand Bearings)
  • Thermal Engineering
• Lamar
  • Thorco Industries
• Monett
  • Jack Henry and Associates
  • Miracle Recreation Equipment Company
  • Window Technology, Inc.
• Neosho
  • K & S Wire
  • Jarden Consumer Solutions
• Southwest City
  • Holden Industries

• NPR Online Article and Audio Link

Who Should Attend

This program is geared specifically for top management in small & medium companies that do not have a human resources person.  Full-time human resources managers will find this a good, inexpensive program to update their knowledge as well.

Topics

1. Overview of Current Law & Authorities
   • LMRA
   • NLRB
   • Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
2. Pending Federal Legislation Review
   • Employee Free Choice Act
   • National Labor Relations Modernization Act
   • Re-Empowerment of Skilled & Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act (RESPECT)
   • Healthy Families Act
   • The Paycheck Fairness Act
   • Ban on Permanent Replacement of Striking Workers
3. Overview of Labor Union Activities
4. Management Strategies
   • Vulnerability Assessment
   • Legislative Involvement
5. What to Expect in the Future

Presenters

Howard Birdsong spent 30 years in organizational and human resources management with companies in this area.   He has been a HR consultant for more than 10 years with companies such as Leggett & Platt, General Electric, La-Z-Boy and numerous small firms.  Mr. Birdsong is an adjunct faculty member at Crowder College & Missouri Southern State University teaching Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management, Business Ethics and Operations Management.

Kevin Wilson has a background in management engineering and spent 17 years in human resource management with La-Z-Boy and MOARK.  Since 2002, Mr. Wilson has served in the Missouri Legislature, where he has been instrumental in developing and passing workers compensation, unemployment benefits and insurance legislation.  He consults on human resource management and works with a number of firms in the region on supervisor training and HR issues. Mr. Wilson teaches at MSSU and Crowder College.

How to Register

The $25 registration fee includes lunch and materials.  Payment must be made in advance or at the door.  Reservations must be made no later than August 20th by phone or email.  Call Sherri Cloyd at the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce at 417-624-4150 or send an email to scloyd@joplincc.com.

As an integral part of the 4-states’ economy, input on this survey will help to develop a more informed foundation for future policy, workforce and economic decisions.  Survey invitations are out on the street as of mid-August.  A PDF copy of the survey is provided at the link below.   Actual survey responses are being collected through an online survey form.  If applicable, a jobs spreadsheet is available to provide additional detail.

• Download a PDF version of the survey to review its contents
• Online Survey Link
• Downloadable Spreadsheet to enter specific job info

The Joplin references start on page 22 of the print edition with the Eagle-Picher’s solutions that are emerging to solve the energy storage dilemma, which is seen as the largest gap that prevents alternative energy from reaching its potential.    Able Manufacturing’s capability to produce intricate composite components now fills the need for several large-scale alternative energy projects.

For the talent development perspective, the article cites the Missouri Alternative Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) Center at Crowder College as well as the MOCAP partnership.  MOCAP stands for Missouri Center for Advanced Power Systems and includes Missouri Southern State University, Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, and EaglePicher Technologies.

The magazine has a printer-friendly digital format that preserves the page layout of the actual magazine.  Visit the publication’s website to view the digital edition.

WorkReadyMissouri is a joint collaboration between the Department of Economic Development’s Division of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Division of Employment Security (DES). The program is funded by two sources: U.S. Department of Labor funds administered by DWD that cover the stipends paid to job-seekers, and DES’ Special Employment Security fund, which pays worker’s compensation premiums through an agreement with the Missouri Employers Mutual (MEM) Insurance Company.

“As Missouri’s economic recovery continues to gain momentum, we remain committed to ensuring that every Missourian who wants to work can find suitable employment,” Gov. Nixon said. “WorkReadyMissouri is a win-win for unemployed workers and Missouri businesses. The program provides individuals with the opportunity to learn new skills for their résumé and maintain a connection to the workforce that could potentially lead to employment. For businesses, it provides an opportunity to train potential employees and evaluate their skills prior to hiring.”

Under the program participating businesses are not required to pay anything—not even Workers’ Compensation—and it is ideal for companies of any size. Job seekers participating in the program received valuable occupational skill training that will assist them in obtaining employment either at the business where they are receiving their training or elsewhere.

Businesses are finding WorkReadyMissouri to be an effective complement to DWD’s On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program in saving training costs while preparing new hires for their vital jobs. Missouri’s OJT reimburses 50% or more of the wages of dislocated workers hired through the program.

Job seekers or businesses interested in the WorkReadyMissouri program can learn more online.

The Division of Workforce Development produced laminated versions of the menu for each of Missouri’s 40+ career centers statewide, including Joplin and Monett in the Southwest region. The menus allow customers of NGCC welcome teams to ‘order’ which services they are interested in. Online PDF versions of the menu are available online from Missouri-Career-Source.

• New NGCC Online Career Services Menu (PDF)
• More information on Joplin and Monett Career Centers

• Alssid’s Op-Ed feature in Huffington Post
• NY Times feature on scrambling for employment after training
• Editorial response from The Atlantic

Missouri’s labor market conditions continued to improve in June, according to data released today by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED).  Payroll employment in the state’s metropolitan areas decreased in some areas and increased in others. The reduction of temporary census workers played a substantial role in many areas, particularly in St. Louis (-2,600) and Kansas City (-2,600). On the plus side, Joplin (+1,000) led the way in gains, while most others were relatively unchanged.

The state’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 9.1 percent in June, the lowest rate in more than a year, down from 9.3 in May. The state’s not-seasonally adjusted rate increased by half a percentage point to 9.2, a standard practice in June each year as summer jobseekers enter the labor force. In comparison, the U.S. rates for June 2010 were 9.5 seasonally-adjusted and 9.6 not-seasonally-adjusted.

The private sector added 6,000 new jobs in June, with noteworthy growth occurring in construction (+1,100); durable goods manufacturing (+2,300, spread through a number of industries); and transportation, warehousing and utilities (+2,200). Increases came in spite of the loss of 3,300 federal government jobs in June, mostly temporary Census workers.

Most other industry groups saw comparatively small changes. The leisure and hospitality industry as a whole saw little change from May as its two major sectors went in opposite directions. Arts, entertainment and recreation saw an employment gain of 1,900, while accommodation and food services employment was down by 2,200.

• Online article from the News-Talk KZRG Radio