Utah, Montana, and Wyoming

 

 

Stan Steinman
Academic Dean, Workforce and Business Development
Community Campus
Pima Community College
401 North Bonita Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85709-5500
520-206-6321
520-429-3801 (cell)
ssteinman@pima.edu

Utah Members
Wyoming Members

Sheridan Economic and Education Developmental Authority Initiative Launched

In the rural, historic, northern Wyoming town of Sheridan, community leaders are recognizing the importance of harnessing local educational and career assets to drive economic growth. The Sheridan Economic and Education Development Authority (SEEDA), is leading an effort to create a workforce and economic development plan that leverages local high school and collegiate career and technical education to support existing business needs, and to help attract new economic activity and jobs. Efforts to fund new technical education facilitates and instructor capacity are underway, and with funding from SEEDA and the Wyoming Business Council, Sheridan is building a broad strategy that integrates institutions, leaders and assets from across the community.

The strategy is being developed by a workforce and economic development consulting team comprised of the national organization the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), and Avalanche Consulting of Austin, Texas, which will assess education programming and economic development assets, respectively. CAEL’s assessment of Career and Technical Education assets was funded by SEEDA, and identifies a number of business sectors – such as manufacturing, tourism, IT and land management – whose expansion or relocation to Sheridan would be enabled by the presence of skilled workers and the programs that create them. Avalanche will then examine how economic development factors like infrastructure, costs, business support services, and transportation could be best utilized to generate economic development of the sectors. Together, CAEL and Avalanche will create a strategy to build on the education and economic development assets.