On Wednesday, June 17, CFMA Siouxland members and guests came together at CJ Callaways for our June quarterly meeting, followed by our 5th Annual Industry Builder Golf event. Our meeting focused on the labor shortage, with a number of excellent presenters demonstrating how the city of Sioux Falls, numerous organizations, and the state of South Dakota have been working to overcome labor shortage challenges, particularly in the skill trades arena. Our presenters included:
- Darrin Smith, Director of Community Development with the City of Sioux Falls, spoke about the work being done in the areas of economic development, downtown development and public parking, and affordable housing. He also spoke more specifically about the $500,000 that the city launched as Pilot Program Grants in January 2015, and how the organizations who were awarded those grants are using the funds. Darrin also directed attendees to a new website, siouxfallshasjobs.com. Check it out!
- Dana Wohlwend with Training Solutions Institute at Southeast Tech focused her presentation on how the Training Solutions Institute is using their grant money to pilot a program focused on helping immigrants and ethnic groups enter the workforce. The program is focused in the pilot stage on taking two groups of 20 individuals through basic skills and skill development courses. One of the groups will be Spanish speaking, and the other will be Nepali.
- Randy Hanson of Mills Construction, and also a member of the South Dakota Workforce Development Council, spoke to the group on the broad work that the Workforce Development Council has been doing over the past few years. If you weren't able to attend, check out the South Dakota WINS website for additional information!
- Greg Johnson from the South Dakota Department of Labor spoke briefly on the services provided by the Department of Labor for both job seekers and employers. He also emphasized the heavy focus of the Unemployment Insurance Division on reemployment services.
- Kari Karst of BX Civil and Construction also spoke briefly on behalf of AGC of South Dakota, focusing her presentation on the new training trailers that will soon be available to help promote and educate the next generation on construction industry career opportunities.
Following the morning meeting and lunch, members and guests hit the course for a great afternoon of golf to raise funds for students pursuing careers in our industries. We had a great turnout again for this event and want to thank all of the sponsors for helping make this event a success! A special thank you as well to the committee (Ryan Dulaney, Cindy Cosand, Kevin Moore, and Jarrod Muller) for their work in making this happen!
