Chamber of Commerce looks to next steps with Targeted Industry and Workforce Study

Editor's note: Info provided by the Crossville-Cumberland Co. Chamber of Commerce and how the information in the Younger Associates report will be used.

Previous Story on Report.

Chamber of Commerce Office

At their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, May 11th, the Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce discussed the Younger Associates report, “Target Business Sector & Workforce Analysis”. This extensive report was almost two years in process since the public sector funding was committed in July of 2015 and fundraising was completed in June of last year. The report looked at a number of factors impacting our community’s ability to attract new companies and help grow the companies already here. Here are just some of the report’s highlights:

1. In the ten counties making up the Cumberland County Labor Shed (where employees come from), Cumberland County loses more folks going to work out-of-town than those who are driving here for work.
2. Cumberland County’s estimated population is 58,811; but, while we will continue to grow, our growth rate has slowed since 2010 and we will continue to lag the rate of growth in the State of Tennessee.
3. An estimate of the total labor shed is roughly 327,000 people.
4. Cumberland County has a wealth of higher education institutions that serve the 10 county labor shed.
5. The study found that there is a “potential part-time hidden labor supply” in groups:

• Age 18-64 (not employed but interested in working part-time) estimated at 11,916
• Retired  (but interested in working part-time) at 4,482

       6. Younger Associates conducted a four-day “intercept survey” getting the opinions of folks just out                        shopping, banking, attending the Friday at the Crossroads event, and so on.  Over 760 surveys were                    completed and some of those highlights include:

• Only 25.9% of people who are currently employed are interested in training for new job skills; a smaller portion than found in other labor shed areas,
• Most people who have a second job are self-employed in their second job (60.3%)
• Of those not currently employed, but interested in finding work, only 9.1% cited disability as the reason for not being employed-other surveys have found this number to be as high as 40%.
• From surveys of those 65+, approximately one quarter of retirees would be willing to help recruit their former business to locate in Cumberland County and about the same amount would be interested in mentoring and helping to educate students about career paths.

        7. The “primary recommended industry targets” include:

• Fabricated metal product manufacturing
• Electrical equipment component manufacturing
• Motor vehicle manufacturing (mid to long-term)
• Wood product manufacturing
• Non-metallic mineral product manufacturing

This is far from an exhaustive listing of information contained in the report; but, now the question is, what are the next steps? Chamber President, Brad Allamong indicated, “We now have in our possession a report that can guide us in determining our most valuable resource-our people-to prepare them for the jobs of the future. Clearly, some of the work is already well underway with the Frontline Leadership Training Program (starting its third program this week), and discussions with the education partners who have been meeting on a regular basis for the past three years.”

Sponsored by Park Place Motors

The initial work will be to farm out the report to various groups, the Chamber’s Workforce Development Council, the 40+ contributors to the Horizon Campaign that paid for the study, the recently formed Executive Managers Group, and others to get their input and response to guide the Chamber Board in setting priorities and unfolding position statements in various areas.

The Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce Board took formal action to accept the report as was presented by Younger Associates and deemed that the staff could immediately expedite payment of the remaining fees owed for services rendered under the agreement. Vicki Baucum, Chairman of the Board stated, “With the additional 80 hours pledged by Younger Associates in their response to our RFP, work will be able to continue as we review this data in detail with our various study groups-especially in the area of education preparedness and priming the pump for local industry’s needs in a pool of ready-to-go employees.”

Economic Development report lists targeted industries and workforce development for Cumberland County

Economic development consultant Younger Associates has presented their report to the chamber of commerce and the community including targeted industry and workforce analysis as the community looks work toward bringing in more jobs.

The funds for the study came from the city, county and donations to the chamber specifically for the project from businesses and supporters in the community. The report seeks to position the area as an attractive place for businesses location and expansion by leveraging the I-40 location and to establish the state and capacity of the workforce and what workforce development strategies are needed.

The report indicates the best bets for the area to try and recruit are manufacturing business in the categories of fabricated metal manufacturing, electrical equipment component manufacturing and a mid to long range target of motor vehicle manufacturing of parts and components. Additional targets are wood product manufacturing and non-metallic mineral product manufacturing.

Advantages to Cumberland County's location for industry and business locations include proximity to U.S. markets and population centers located within a one-day truck delivery of approximately 70% of major markets. Other reasons include

• Proximity to Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga for larger metropolitan amenities and access to specialized good, services and commercial air service
• Located on Interstate 40 and U.S. 127; I-40 visibility and access is excellent
• Outstanding natural beauty of the Crossville-Cumberland with numerous outdoor recreational opportunities • Access to higher education including three TCATs within the labor shed
• Effective collaboration among local leadership, particularly among the city and county mayors and the chamber
• Success in attracting grant funding to develop industrial site development
• Excellent availability of sites under preparation using local and grant funds, and potential new sites that can be added to the inventory for business and industrial development

The report also outlines other benefits the community can use to its advantage in recruiting business here:

• Community as a whole has a pro-business attitude
• Good community support for industry-focused workforce development, particularly with the Crossville TCAT, County School System and Horizon Initiative Participants
• Presence of an active business incubator
• Very active arts community
• Downtown area with huge potential for development with great building stock and a good existing mix of retail and services
• Ability to attract tourism and retirement is a good companion for developing amenities that attract other business and industry, and potentially new working age residents

The reasons for the selection of the business targets include that similar businesses are already represented in the economy, the jobs have an average annual wage of greater then $50,000 and a projected national 5 year growth rate of 10 percent. Additionally, the community talent pipeline can supply those trained in technology and engineering to these industries, sites exist for the new industry locations and the transportation infrastructure is available to bring in raw materials in and ship finished product out.

News report sponsored by Park Place Motors

The report indicates tourism is another target and recommends the development of natural attractions, sporting attractions, a conference center hotel, and crossovers with retiree and worker/talent attraction. The report describes downtown development as an opportunity to create a vibrant center to increase enjoyment for local residents and help attract new residents. The report praises downtown for its attractive building stock, uncommon mix of retail, historical cultural assets and an art community.

The report also ties the areas age demographic to the expected growth in medical services needed by the community.

One issue that the Chamber wanted researched was the available work force and Younger and Associates surveyed 767 individuals about their employment and other information. The results show a sizable outflow of workers to Putnam County but not to one specific industry but a variety of reasons. Almost 18 percent of employees also have a second job and a majority of those second jobs are self employment.

The results show only 25.9 percent of those currently employed are interested in training in new job skills, a number smaller then in other areas. Of those surveyed who were unemployed only 58 percent were interested in job training and that number was also lower then other areas. Those that were interested in training were interested in computer technology and management HR.

Area retirees were also surveyed and 25 percent said they would be willing to help recruit their former employer to relocate to the area and 25 percent would also be willing to mentor and help educate students about career paths.

The report indicates a hidden labor supply that would work full-time includes unemployed, part-time wanting full-time, underemployed and recent post secondary graduates with a total of 38,577 people. Another 16,398 are interested in part-time including retirees interested in working.

Other recommendations listed include continue developing existing industrial sites and implement plans to use recently awarded grant funds to improve infrastructure. The community should also continue to option or acquire land and buildings needed to support major business expansions.

Additionally the report recommends promoting information to employees and unemployed that training gives potential for advancement and promotes the availability, ease of access and importance of training to work to change the mindset of the employees not interested in any training.

To increase the workforce, the reports suggests sending out information to potential retirees to :bring the whole family” when they move.     

Chamber of Commerce Workforce Study interviews coming April 6 through 8

The Crossville/Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce comprehensive analysis of the local workforce in the 10 county labor market is underway and local residents and business are being asked to help.

“The project will position our region to compete in the global economy for the best economic development opportunities and jobs,” said Brad Allamong, president/CEO of the Chamber. In the short term this data will assist existing businesses in finding qualified available. It will also help workforce agencies match workers with jobs and training programs. Long-term, this project will provide planning data to prepare the workforce for the new economy, which requires higher skills.

This study will include a labor supply survey, to be conducted among working-age people via brief personal interviews at numerous local sites. “To achieve the greatest level of success we need the help of individuals in the community,” explained Allamong. “We ask people to stop and talk to our surveyors when they are in the area.”

Survey teams will be in various locations in Cumberland County Thursday April 6 through Saturday April 8 conducting brief in-person interviews with area residents. The survey only takes a couple of minutes to complete but gathers very important information about workers and job skills available in the region. Names are not collected and survey responses are anonymous.

Younger and Associates, a Jackson Tennessee economic development research firm is conducting the study. For more information about the study or the survey, contact the Chamber at (931) 484-8444.

Chamber's Targeted Industry Analysis and local workforce analysis underway by Memphis Firm Younger Assoc.

Work is getting underway on the targeted industry study and workforce analysis both commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce as part of the Horizon Initiative plan.

The Chamber raised over $120,000 in order to receive $40,000 from each of the city and county governments as part of the plans and study to improve the local area's chance at bringing in additional jobs.

Sharon Young, left and Lana Suites, right of Younger Associates

Sharon Younger, president of Younger & Associates of Memphis heads the firm hired to do the studies and spent some time with local media to explain what they will be doing and how they will be doing it. Younger was visiting Crossville to look at the area and meet with stakeholders for the study including elected officials, chamber members and education leaders. In addition to Younger, the firm's research director Lana Suites was also part of the visiting team.

The firm will be making additional community visits and reports with the chamber and stakeholders including gathering information for an in depth study of the local workforce, their education and skill levels, barriers to employment, whether they are adequately or under employed and other information of interest to potential employers looking at Crossville.

One of the issues facing the community in attracting new companies is the available work force and their level of education. The firm will be interviewing a statistically valid sample of the population and these interviews will take place typically where a wide variety of the population goes such as shopping locations. These surveys are expected to take place in early April. Along with the work in the community, the firm will be using data from local state and federal data sources as well as other information in order to tie all the information together.

A bit later on in the process, the firm will return to meet with employers to ask them what they're needs are as well as what the capacity of the local education components to see if they have the necessary programs and capacity for what the employers say they are seeking.

Younger explained that the firm has already looked at the area and how employees travel from one county to another and the commute time. One interesting bit of information showed that even though many workers from surrounding counties traveled into Cumberland County there were also a number of workers who traveled out of Cumberland County to work. According to Younger, that information shows that if there were adequate jobs locally there is a group of the workforce that could take those jobs.

She said she had a positive impression of the community including the downtown and industrial area, both things that companies look for.   

Chamber chooses consultant for Target Industry Analysis and Workforce Development Strategy.

The Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce has selected Younger Associates of Jackson, Tennessee to consult on the completion of a target industry analysis and workforce development strategy for Cumberland County. The work will begin on February 22nd and is anticipated to wrap up in early May with a presentation of findings.

Chamber of Commerce

An RFP was created in mid-November with responses due by mid-December from companies who are in the business of assisting communities with such studies and six proposals were received. After preliminary scoring of the proposals, video conferences were held with five companies and the presentation of Younger Associates was preferred by a strong majority of those who had been involved in some aspect of the selection process. The bottom line to the RFP came down to two primary questions:

1.       Since Cumberland County has an excellent location (Interstate 40 cuts through the County), how can we position ourselves to be attractive to small-medium industrial interests and what companies (clusters) might find Cumberland County an attractive location for future expansion, and

2.       What workforce development strategy should we follow to not only help us in attraction of new investment; but, serve the current needs of existing industry?

“One of the attractive features to Younger Associates approach was their analysis of the workforce and drawing conclusions from that information,” noted Chamber President, Brad Allamong. “Their proposal included final report presentations to TECD and TVA, was within budget, included an additional 80 hours of consultation beyond the end of the project and very importantly was from a company who is based in Tennessee and aware of similar Tennessee challenges in meeting workforce demands.”

Some of Younger Associates clients include: Central Virginia Partnership, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Greater Jackson Alliance in Mississippi, the North Alabama Council of Local Governments, the Greater Memphis Chamber and the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce. Ray Evans, Economic Development Director for the Plateau Partnership Park and one of the City’s representatives on the committee to select the consultant, said “I believe the selection of Younger Associates is an excellent choice for the community. The committee’s comfort level with Sharon Younger was extraordinary.”

Sharon Younger is the President of Younger Associates and she has worked with TVA to develop successful strategies for recruiting the plastics and automotive industries into the Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi region. Her firm worked with TVA to analyze the economic impact of the megasite program by analyzing the activity in five megasites and the strategies for developing two additional megasites. She has over twenty-five years of experience in her field and is a frequent speaker at national conferences for professional organizations. 

EDITORIAL--Thoughts on Charles Osgood leaving Sunday Morning and his excellent poem on a "pretty good" education...

Editorial comment:

I will miss Charles Osgood on Sunday Morning.  #CelebrateCharlie

In celebration of his talent, here is a piece I have often shared and firmly believe is a warning we have failed to heed.  I posted it not long after it was written on a bulletin board in the local school superintendents office and heard several comments about how good it was.  Then after a short time it disappeared from the board with no explanation. 

Currently we are talking at the local level about the need to "develop our workforce," in order to attract new industry and jobs.  This is a conversation that has its roots in education. Tennessee's "Drive to 55" is an effort to increase the education level of our population above just high school, again as a way to attract jobs.  

The poem is 30 years old. 

Pretty Good

by Charles Osgood (1933-)
from the Osgood File, 1986

There once was a pretty good student
Who sat in a pretty good class
And was taught by a pretty good teacher
Who always let pretty good pass.

He wasn’t terrific at reading,
He wasn’t a whiz-bang at math,
But for him, education was leading
Straight down a pretty good path.

He didn’t find school too exciting,
But he wanted to do pretty well,
And he did have some trouble with writing
Since nobody taught him to spell.

When doing arithmetic problems,
Pretty good was regarded as fine.
5+5 needn’t always add up to be 10;
A pretty good answer was 9.

The pretty good class that he sat in
Was part of a pretty good school,
And the student was not an exception:
On the contrary, he was the rule.

The pretty good school that he went to
Was there in a pretty good town,
And nobody there seemed to notice
He could not tell a verb from a noun.

The pretty good student in fact was
Part of a pretty good mob.
And the first time he knew what he lacked was
When he looked for a pretty good job.

It was then, when he sought a position,
He discovered that life could be tough,
And he soon had a sneaking suspicion
Pretty good might not be good enough.

The pretty good town in our story

Was part of a pretty good state
Which had pretty good aspirations
And prayed for a pretty good fate.

There once was a pretty good nation
Pretty proud of the greatness it had,
Which learned much too late,
If you want to be great,
Pretty good is, in fact, pretty bad.

Where the Crossville/Cumberland Co. Horizon Initiative Stands.

“What is Horizon?” Allamong explained, “The Horizon Initiative came from a series of 19 visioning meetings held across the county with citizens giving their input on what the community needed and what the problems they face were. Horizon now is all of Cumberland County working cooperatively on the dreams of our residents. I think that the beauty to Horizon is that it really is an umbrella for these dreams, these wishes of our residents to come to pass. Where common groups that share goals and visions can come and be discussing issues that they never really had before.”

Following the announcment that the Chamber of Commerece had exceeded its goal of fundraising to recieve matching funds from Crossville and Cumberland County, some of those invovled gathered for a photo.  Left to right are Brad Allamong, Presdient and CEO of the Crossville-CUmberland County Chamber of Commerce, Crossville mayor James Mayberry, Horizon Initiative steering committe chair Nancy Burns and Cumberland Co. mayor Kennth Carey.

“The Horizon Initiative is not owned by anyone. It is a partnership,” explained Brad Allamong of the Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce.

“What is Horizon?” Allamong explained, “The Horizon Initiative came from a series of 19 visioning meetings held across the county with citizens giving their input on what the community needed and what the problems they face were. Horizon now is all of Cumberland County working cooperatively on the dreams of our residents. I think that the beauty to Horizon is that it really is an umbrella for these dreams, these wishes of our residents to come to pass. Where common groups that share goals and visions can come and be discussing issues that they never really had before.”

On July 14, Allamong announced to the media that the Chamber had donations and commitments totaling $132,000, exceeding the $120,000 they agreed to raise. While the Cumberland County check for their $40,000 is cut to be delivered to the Chamber, the city's action at their meeting also on the 14th was to disburse the funds only upon appointment of an oversight committee and actual receipt by the Chamber of at least $120,000 cash in the bank. Currently the Chamber has several outstanding commitments to reach the cash amount but Allamong told the city council he was confident they would meet that requirement shortly as checks were continuing to come in.

Allamong gave background on how the Horizon Initiative came about, where it is now and where he and other partners hope it will help take the community in the future. “Horizon has it roots in the visioning program that was designed to get input from all Cumberland County residents,” he said. There were 19 different meetings at different locations, often schools and public meeting places where the public was invited to share their ideas and concerns.

“We wanted to have input and views from citizens on where we had been, Where they think we are now and where they'd like the future to be. It's really important to have consensus as you move forward,” stressed Allamong.

As the community learned of the impending loss of local employment through the Ficosa company's relocation to Cookeville, Allamong said that retirees continued to be strong in coming to the community and tourism held it's own. “Horizon became the banner or label of every success that would come out of this plan. The first announcement under the banner was the January announcement of Apex Energy,” explained Allamong. Other announcements included 150 new jobs at Co-Linx and the three state bowling tournaments to be held in Crossville in the next 12 months.

Allamong pointed out that while the city and county were working as partners, something they hadn't often done in the past, those working on the plan realized that if something was going to be done about workforce development, they would also need help from the schools district, Roane State Community College (RSCC) and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT). As more partners came on board, a simple cooperative agreement was drafted that says “were all going to work together to advance this Horizon plan.”

The Horizon fund raising campaign was, according to Allamong, a pretty good deal for the city and the county. “The city put up $40,000 and the county put up $40,000 and we said we would come with $120,000 and I think going forward, this 60/40 split thing, we're going to continue to pursue that going forward.”

Allamong continued, “The campaign was for some very specific things. We wanted a targeted industry analysis that will give us a professional consultant's look at the resources of Cumberland County, the land, the utilities, the workforce, etc. What are those companies that are in the expansion mode that we could attract and it's in their best interest to be here.”

Currently the chamber gets leads from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development but so does every other community in Tennessee and you're in this competition of comparisons between what each community has to offer.

“With a targeted industry analysis, you are looking for the companies with the best match, the best suited to you. What we hope to get out of a targeted industry analysis, don't tell me I need more ceramics companies, tell me what companies I can attract that will help us anchor those ceramics industries,” explained Allamong.

“Workforce development strategy was another thing we want to do,” said Allamong. “Before we go out and do a bunch of programs, which may well cure some of our workforce ills. Tell us what the strategy is and then the programs follow. The targeted industry with the workforce strategy will tell you that you need to work on bringing these companies here. Once you know the profiles of the companies you're attracting, you turn it over to the education folks and say 'what are we doing to prepare the workforce to accept those jobs in those companies that you're recruiting?' That sounds like a new thing, but it's not.”

In a similar vein, Allamong said that while the area has property available for industry, until the area knows what type of industry it is trying to attract they won't know if they have the right property with the right infrastructure.

"Horizon carries the banner to encompass the vision process, any announcments if it's out of the visnioning plan as a success. One of the nice things about our city, county chamber partnership is that none of us are hung up on the issue of who gets credit," according to Allamong, "The community gets credit and we all win."

Allamong added that some of the recent local political headlines do make his job harder, and he added it would be better to be able to find accord and diplomacy, "Because that's the darndest thhing about Google, you can pretty much find anything out there. But I would love to be known as the community that found solutions to its workforce problems. I wouldn't have to market, they'd come here."

Allamong admitted, “We have done the worst job of communicating, post visioning, where is Horizon. It almost needs its own marketing strategy. We're going to fail if we don't communicate back to the people that wrote the plan. I would love to go back into the communities and periodically revisit visioning.

The Horizon Initiative steering committee is currently meeting monthly and organizing around 6 focus areas. Those focus areas are social, identity, infrastructure, economic, leadership and organizational. Nancy Burns, chair of the steering committee said the group is finalizing their by-laws and currently have 18 to 20 members of the steering committee. Each focus area has a chair and they are working to establish volunteers and work plans to move the project and the community forward.