Building Bridges to Work

Gary Jackson of the Metro Partnership high-fives a student during a school visit. (Provided)

A growing disconnect between public education and private industry spurred the Hot Springs Metro Partnership to look for creative ways to realign these sectors.

Gary Troutman, president and CEO of the Hot Springs Metro Partnership, the region’s economic development organization, said labor shortages over the last several years caused employers in and around Hot Springs to ask for help.

“We sought out innovative workforce development programs in Arkansas and all across the nation to learn from before we developed our plan of action,” said Troutman. “We visited different communities and talked with their leaders and started attending workforce-focused conferences. A common theme emerged that K-12 students were not being introduced to production-related jobs and many of the skills necessary to do that work.”

In 2020, the Metro Partnership sought to introduce these concepts in the local schools but had a hard time finding the right platform in the education industry – along with the challenges COVID-19 brought about. Things changed when the group hired an education veteran to join the team.

“When we were traveling and learning from other workforce programs in 2019 and 2020, one of our visits was to West Memphis High School where principal Gary Jackson was part of an administration that had developed some creative new programming to excite students about learning real-world job skills,” Troutman said. “They had also initiated a partnership with the local community college for programs like diesel mechanics, culinary, cybersecurity and supply chain management.

“When we were looking to hire someone to help lead our workforce development, we called Gary Jackson in late 2022 and asked if he wanted to come back to his hometown of Hot Springs.”

Jackson started at the beginning of 2023 and his first order of business was to understand the needs of the local employers.

“I met with many of the major employers to familiarize myself with their business and the skills needed to work at many of our local companies,” said Jackson. “After those conversations, I decided the best way to expose students to this information was to deliver it ourselves. Gary Troutman and I developed a presentation highlighting the approximately 40 local manufacturing companies – the products they make, the job opportunities they have, and the skills and education needed for these jobs. We also included our largest employers: Oaklawn, CHI St. Vincent and National Park Medical Center.”

The two started speaking in local schools during the 2023-24 academic year, targeting eighth-grade career development classes and prepping 11th and 12th grade classes for their in-person visits with local employers at Draft Day Hot Springs in April 2024.

“We get the kids’ attention at the beginning of the presentation by asking ‘Who likes Chick-fil-A?’ Every hand always goes up,” Jackson said. “We tell them that Keith Smith Company is a leading supplier of chicken to Chick-fil-A, and they are headquartered right here in Hot Springs.

“Did you know that the breading for the Popeyes chicken sandwich and Panda Express orange chicken is made in Hot Springs at Kerry Foods? It takes hundreds of employees with professional and technical skills working together to make products and supply them to some of the country’s largest restaurant chains.”

The duo tries to connect students to those products they are familiar with, including Mountain Valley Water and Reynolds Aluminum Foil, before moving on to more specialized products from Hot Springs manufacturers, such as sawmill equipment that is designed and built by FiberPro and USNR or aerospace maintenance and manufacturing from five local employers.

They then explain how to acquire the skills needed to get hired for those jobs, whether it be with a high school diploma, a two-year or skilled trade school, or with a bachelor’s or advanced degree.

“I’ve been really impressed with how engaged the students have been when we come talk,” said Troutman. “My wife is an eighth-grade teacher, and it’s not lost on me that from the students’ perspective, it looks like two old gray-haired guys coming to talk about jobs.

“It’s been so well received, that all schools have had us back to speak to students in other grades and several schools asked us to deliver the program to the entire faculties on their professional development day. This is great because we’ve found that many professionals in education aren’t aware of opportunities in the private sector. As one administrator told us this year, ‘They are swaddled in an academic cocoon.’”

The business leaders say the goal is to make students aware of the local job opportunities.

“If they aren’t well prepared for a future in the workforce, then we’re doing our kids a disservice,” said Jackson.

The pair have spoken to 3,000 students at Garland County schools this year and plan to continue next school year.