"Incredible Work" Says Visiting Researcher
MERIDIAN – “You’ve done some incredible work as a region,” said Chandra Larson, a Social Scientist from Oakland, CA, as she addressed a group of West Alabama-East Mississippi (WAEM) community college partners. As part of a team from Social Policy Research Associates (SPRA), Chandra visited the WAEM Region to examine the trends, needs, and opportunities regarding workforce training.
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Vinz Koller ponders a point |
"This session provided WAEM leaders a great opportunity to compare and benchmark our efforts and activities with other regions who face similar challenges,” said Roger Whitlock, Workforce Director at East Central Community College. “This was an excellently facilitated exercise that allowed community colleges to gain perspective from across the country, re-assess our service provisions, and adapt to utilize 'best practices' for investing our funds in the best interest of this region's people."
According to Vinz Koller, Director of Training and Technical Assistance and Senior Social Scientist at SPRA, the WAEM Regional Initiative is one of just four nationwide to receive an on-site visit from the group, which is a national technical assistance provider funded by the Department of Labor. The goal of this assistance is to provide expanded economic opportunities to disadvantaged and hard-to-reach populations. Specific suggestions on how the region might meet this goal will be included in the group’s final report, due out by late Spring.
Jason Dedwylder, Director of External Funding at Jones County Junior College, agreed that the meeting was very productive. “The inclusion of mapping techniques provided participants with valuable information as the WAEM region moves forward to better equip the area workforce to compete in the global marketplace."
Koller and Larson also discussed sustaining the WAEM Regional Initiative and explored future opportunities for the region. Felecia Pettway, Civic Leadership Facilitator at Wallace Community College Selma, agreed with the importance of continuity. “We have an interest in continuing the current WAEM Alliance to both strengthen and continue to build our communities. As a regional team, we feel that we can continue to share ideas, resources, and foster needed relationships that will move an economically deprived region forward.”
