Economic Roles

April 15, 2004 Community Breakfast Comments
Economic Development/Chambers of Commerce Sector

What role could NMC play in helping you address these trends?

Economy	Provide educational opportunities that citizens in the area can access from their homes. Bricks and mortar will be less important. Need to address training that increases productivity. We are in an economic change that will be our future.
Technology	Provide technology seminars that demonstrate systems and options. Specific training for services offered: Broadband communications, power plant technicians, electronic technicians. More specialized business training on electronic commerce issues. Provide WI-FI network for local community. Improve technology communications / expanding broadband and wireless. Lead the new economy through the development/training of new technologies. Be a center for technology development.
Demographic	Get involved in the planning and education of the populace.
Curriculum	Provide construction project management courses for field foremen and office project managers - 2 levels that highlight complementary but different roles - evenings or one-day sessions. Development/construction - training specific to industry/task - tech training - project management. Offer open entry/open exit ESL (English as second language) classes during hours workers can attend. Our business relies on ongoing training of existing staff in technical areas as well as technology. Our small business clients need training for accountants and technology staff. They also need strategic planning and management training as small business owners. Economical seminars with access to national speakers will make our businesses more competitive. Training of the service industries, medical, hospitality, construction trades, etc. Continue to focus on that! Continue all efforts to teach and improve manufacturing technology research and training. Expand Liberal Arts "classical education," a must for a democratic society. Teach small business development that emphasizes areas that have development potential. Provide classes to re-educate folks who have come from manufacturing, healthcare, IT, services, health and personal services. Continue to expand on-line training capability. Human resource service training Medical training programs will continue to be needed. Nurse practitioner or physician's assistant degrees are gaining popularity - NMC could have one. Internship programs would better entwine NMC and businesses. This would work in accounting, computer and other business applications.
General	Upgrade service sector education - make it interesting, challenging and viewed as valuable. Provide training for the "Boomlet" generation to help make them available for high-skill/high-pay jobs within the region. "General Contractor" for the region's education, training and learning. NMC owns the region, but will not always have the best program. As the "General Contractor," NMC can get it and see that it happens. Develop a core skills development that will allow workers to move easily between disparate industry sectors with minimal retraining. Be evangelistic concerning entrepreneurial development vs. just "owning your own business." Expand delivery systems to include other organizations or entities that can reach mass markets. Reduce time necessary to learn those aspects of a particular job skill needed to transition or evolve in a job or business. Identify critical partners to help accomplish various goals. Maintain contact and interaction with the business community. Try to reach our early teens to help them see career choices that involve 2-year degrees or dual enrollment programs and result in a good job at age 20-22. Retraining centers will continue to be key. Educate our residents/students in business basics. We will need better trained staff and better educated representatives of our company. What can you do to help students want to become self-employed? Access more downloads to seminars and Just In Time learning/on demand training. NMC should integrate its education and business services with other existing resources (i.e. Chamber, EDC, COG). NMC can play role as "point position" for educating workforce. Provide hope/help for meaningful employment for future generations. NMC should continue to play a strong role in economic development as the demand for a skilled, professional workforce grows - continue and grow 4-year programs and post-grad programs, job training, take a leadership role in economic development, tech support - software sharing/library. Work with business to find markets. How much can NMC do? With all your programs, can you do them all well considering the budget, finances, etc?
Convener Role	Think tank to find the areas of growth - programs. Help with growth issues. Coordinating role in arts, entertainment and culture. Land use issues? Convene, educate, collaborate. Helping to restore trust in government as the collective "we". Improving public decision-making. Conflict resolution. Restoring a balanced public perspective: economy/environment/social justice. NMC should become the central organization for environmental issues concerning the Great Lakes. NMC should play a greater role in downtown Traverse City development and in creating a useable public transit system. Play role of facilitator to bring various groups of same interest together to push toward common goal. Play a lead role with city for use of public lands on either side of campus.

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