NCCBI News
Myers sets dates
for workforce development conferences
 Fresh
from being named chairman of the state Economic Development Board,
NCCBI Chairman Gordon Myers of Asheville (left) has announced
the dates for several upcoming conferences at which business leaders
will meet face-to-face with workforce training specialists to develop
a strategy to train and retrain North Carolina workers.
Workforce development has been the top priority for Myers, the Ingles
Markets executive, since assuming the chairmanship of NCCBI in March
of this year. He believes that developing a statewide plan for
workforce training is more important now than ever before, given the
state’s soaring unemployment rate following the loss of thousands of
manufacturing jobs.
Myers spoke extensively about his plan for the series of regional
workforce preparedness meetings during the 22 NCCBI Fall Area
Meetings. “You might be surprised to find out that we spend a huge
amount on workforce development,” he told members at the 22
meetings. “Unfortunately, we don’t allocate these funds in
anything resembling a unified, coordinated way. In fact, our workforce
development programs are spread out across eight different departments
of state government. Millions of state and federal dollars are spent
each year in this manner. If we are to adequately address the
workforce crisis facing North Carolina, we have to get serious about
consolidating these programs.”
The conferences, hosted by the seven regional economic development
partnerships across the state, will be held over the coming weeks.
The first was scheduled for Nov. 20 in Elizabethtown, hosted by the
North Carolina’s Southeast regional partnership. In February, a
statewide summit will be held in a central location to discuss
recommendations that come out of the regional meetings. The
schedule of remaining meetings is as follows, with exact locations to
be announced separately:
 Dec. 5, 12-4 p.m.,
Charlotte region, Central Piedmont Community College;
Dec. 6, 8 a.m.-12 p.m.,
Research Triangle Regional Partnership, RTP area;
Dec. 6, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
N.C.’s Eastern region, Kinston;
Dec. 11, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Piedmont Triad region, Greensboro;
Dec. 13, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
North Carolina’s Northeast Partnership;
Dec. 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
AdvantageWest Regional Partnership, Asheville.
“It is imperative that the business community step forward and begin
to define specifically the skills that are needed in the workforce at
this time,” Myers said. “We must bring together the business
community along with groups that train and retrain our workforce.
It is easy to complain, but if we want to make a difference, we must
have a seat at the table. The purpose of these regional meetings
will be to make sure everybody who impacts our workforce is at the
same table at the same time.”
Myers plans to bring the recommendations that come out of the
statewide summit to the NCCBI Board of Directors in March 2002, either
in the form of a legislative platform or suggestions for
administrative action or a combination of the two. “I believe
six to eight recommendations will come to the top of the list,”
Myers said. “That list will be reasonable, achievable and will
allow for a level of accountability.”
In addition to NCCBI, the following groups are collaborating on this
project: the N.C. Partnership for Economic Development; N.C.
Department of Commerce; N.C. Department of Community Colleges; N.C.
Economic Developers’ Association; N.C. Rural Economic Development
Center; N.C. Employment Security Commission; University of North
Carolina System; N.C. Association of Independent Colleges; N.C.
Regional Councils of Government; and regional workforce development
boards.
Area Meetings End: After visiting
22 cities and meeting with nearly 1,500 members, the annual NCCBI Road
Show came to an end last month with a reception in Pinehurst. Chairman
Myers declared the series of meetings a resounding success. Many of
the pictures we snapped at those meetings are included in the print
version of the December magazine.
Myers reported to members that the association remains strong. “As I
have said before, no organization I know of does more to effect real
improvements in the lives of real people in the real world than
NCCBI.” He said he was pleased that NCCBI continues to be widely
supported in the business community. “Our membership figures have
remained strong, both in terms of new members recruited and existing
members retained.”
Much of the credit for NCCBI’s growing membership goes to members
themselves, Myers added. “To those who’ve reached out to your
business associates, neighbors and friends in recruiting new members,
thank you – and please keep up the good work.”
The association continues to win accolades for its growth in
membership. NCCBI won two national awards from the Association of
Membership and Marketing Executives during its annual meeting in New
Orleans last month. One award was for the biggest increase in market
share — the same award NCCBI shared with California at last year’s
AMME meeting — and another award was for membership retention. Vice
President of Development Rosemary Wyche represented NCCBI at the AMME
meeting and spoke twice on the program.
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