The director of the Office of Skills Development at the state Department of Commerce is leaving the post for a job with Transfr of New York, a workforce training technology provider.
Cody Waits said Friday that Oct. 20 will be his last day with the skills development office, which he’s led since July 2017.
Waits told Arkansas Business he’s joining Transfr as a government engagement manager for the company’s southeast area.
“So pretty much from Arkansas all the way across to Georgia, handling government affairs work and business development and stuff like that, as well as some national and federal relationships as well,” he said. “So, pretty good opportunity.”
Waits said he and Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald have had a great relationship and continue to do so. Waits said he will remain in central Arkansas, working remotely for the company.
“Cody has been instrumental in driving workforce development aligned to the needs of employers and has been an asset to the state and to the Arkansas Department of Commerce,” a department spokesman told Arkansas Business.
The spokesman said McDonald will “evaluate qualified candidates” to fill the position.
The office says its mission is to strategically invest in Arkansas’ workforce “by raising education and skill levels, meeting the needs of companies operating in Arkansas, balancing workforce and employer interests, leading to greater economic achievement for workers and companies.”
The office leads several statewide initiatives to achieve those goals, offering workforce training grants and apprenticeship programs and overseeing high school career centers.
The skills development office had partnered with Transfr on a program last year to use the company’s virtual reality simulations to expose Arkansas students and job-seekers to manufacturing, transportation, construction and skilled trades jobs.
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