The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) hosted the Workforce Forward 2012 Forum on September 20th at The Prizery in South Boston, VA. Leaders in business, industry, economic development, and education gathered for a day focused on advanced manufacturing and the workforce development needed for Southern Virginia to take advantage of the manufacturing renaissance. Forum attendees engaged with three panel discussions and keynote speaker Harry Moser.
The first panel focused on Manufacturing Trendsetters and featured panelists Rick Dockstader, plant manager at Presto Products’ South Boston facility, Ken Morgan, Board Chairman of Morgan Lumber Company, LLC, and Angela Lewis, president of Lindstrand USA. Leigh Cockram, Executive Director of the newly formed Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, facilitated the panel. As experienced manufacturers in Southern Virginia, panelists spoke about their individual businesses, as well as the advantages and challenges of being located in the region. The panelists agreed that people skills were the key assets for employees to have, and that workers in Southern Virginia were top-notch, “We have a wealth of skilled labor here,” Lewis said. When asked about workforce challenges panelists cited employees lacking computer skills and difficulty with workforce training. Angela Lewis pointed out the toll long-term unemployment has taken on Southern Virginia’s workforce describing it as “heartbreaking” how some have lost confidence in themselves and in their ability to find work again.
The second panel of the day focused on emerging manufacturing opportunities with panelists Bret Berneche, CEO of Cardinal Homes in Wylliesburg, VA,Jimmy Farlow, Owner of SIPS of America in Blairs, VA, and Crawford Murphy Architect of MDS10 and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) in Asheville, NC. Katherine DeRosear, Director of Workforce Development for the Virginia Manufacturer's Association, facilitated the discussion. Berneche spoke of innovations he’s facing in modular home construction, including a new technique of nesting homes for easier transport. Farlow and Murphy discussed the new techniques they’re using to manufacture eco-friendly, earthquake and hurricane proof, affordable homes and buildings. Farlow’s structural insulated panels (SIPS) were the centerpiece of a disaster-relief housing prototype recently sent to Haiti. This Breathe House initiative was a collaboration between SIPS of America, the University of Virginia, Riverstone Energy Center, and the SVHEC’s R&D Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Energy Efficiency.
Crawford Murphy discussed another construction innovation, Cross-Laminated Timbers (CLTs), that has great potential as the future of construction. CLTs can be manufactured with no waste, and allows very tall, very strong structures to be built completely out of wood. The use of CLTs originated in Europe but is slowly making its way to the United States. The SVHEC’s R&D Center was recently awarded a grant to certify southern yellow pine as a CLT building material. Murphy said success with southern yellow pine would revolutionize the CLT industry.
Berneche and Farlow’s businesses are located in Southern Virginia, and Murphy is considering the region for a new CLT plant. All panelists emphasized that collaboration was critical to success in today’s economy, and they touted the skill and talent of Southern Virginia’s workforce. In a passionate statement that resonated with the audience Jimmy Farlow stated, “The can-do spirit is in Virginia. It’s bred in us.”
The final panel focused on educational trendsetters, and was facilitated by SVHEC Executive Director Dr. Betty Adams. Dr. Keith Williamson, Virginia State University dean of the School of Engineering, Sciences and Technology, Dale Moore, founder of Virginia Technical Institute, and Dr. Julie Brown, project director of the Dan River Region Collaborative all engaged in a lively discussion on preparing students with the skills today’s employers need. Dale Moore spoke of the student he calls technically gifted, and how these students often struggle with feeling out of place in a traditional classroom setting. Moore said he related to this type of student stating, “I grew up feeling like I was stupid because I was technically gifted.” The successful entrepreneur started Virginia Technical Institute (VTI) two years ago to focus on the “technically gifted” after spending years unsuccessfully trying to get his employees at Moore’s Electrical & Mechanical to pursue higher education. Right away, students recognized VTI as a different kind of school and began signing up in droves. VTI has experienced steady enrollment growth and recently partnered with Liberty University to offer Associate’s degrees in the trades.
Dr. Williamson spoke of Virginia State University’s involvement with the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (C-CAM), and their work with dual enrollment to reduce the cost of higher education. Dr. Brown described the mission of the Dan River Region Collaborative as moving people from low-wage, low-skilled jobs to high-wage, high-skill jobs. On the topic of keeping the technically gifted student engaged the panelists agreed that the key was getting to the students early. “It starts in middle school if not earlier,” Dr. Williamson stated. Moore said he believed it started in the home with children seeing their parents valuing education, “When children see their parents going to school they begin to value education. That’s how you change a culture.” Dr. Brown observed that workforce training isn’t reserved for adults but that “K-12 is workforce development.”
Following the panel discussions Deputy Secretary of Commerce & Trade for Rural Economic Development provided greetings on behalf of Governor Bob McDonnell. “Governor McDonnell believes in Southside Virginia,” she stated. Deputy Secretary Carter was followed by the Forum’s keynote speaker and founder of the Reshoring Initiative, Mr. Harry Moser. Moser spent his career in manufacturing, and served as president of Charmilles Technologies and chairman emeritus of its successor GF AgieCharmilles before his retirement. He now dedicates his time and resources to his passion for reviving American manufacturing.
Moser spoke about his work with US manufacturers to help them recognize the total cost of ownership when off-shoring. He shared that 60% of manufacturers make mistakes when calculating the cost benefits of offshoring. Citing a study by the Boston Consulting Group, Moser said the net labor costs in the United States and China are expected to converge in 2015, further making the case for bringing jobs back to America.
Moser has developed a software tool that allows manufacturers to input their data to obtain a true comparison of the benefits of onshoring versus offshoring. “Forty percent of contract manufacturers have done reshoring in the past year,” Moser stated. He expects the trend to continue, and is working diligently to help the effort.
The Workforce Forward 2012 Forum was well received with attendees remarking it was a “well-organized” event. “The value to me is not just what I may have shared, but more in what I learned from the Forum,” said panelist and Cardinal Homes CEO Bret Berneche. Matt Leonard, Executive Director of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority stated, “WOW! The Workforce Forward event today was outstanding,” and Dr. Paul Winistorfer Virginia Tech Dean of the College of Natural Resources & Environment remarked, “You are on the right path – stay on it.”
The Workforce Forward Forum is an initiative of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. For more information visit www.svhec.org, email workforceforward@svhec.org , or call 1-434-572-5488 and toll free 1-800-283-0098 ext 5488.
