NEWS
Flint business leader appointed to Michigan Works! Association board
The Michigan Works! Association today announced the appointment of Flint business leader Leanne Panduren of ROWE PSC to its board of directors.
“Leanne Panduren’s tremendous business and workforce experience will be an asset to the Michigan Works! Association board,” said Ryan Hundt, Michigan Works! Association CEO. “Our board provides critical insight to ensure positive outcomes for job seekers and employers and we are honored to have Leanne join us.”
Panduren has been with ROWE since 1994, and currently serves as CEO, President and chair of the board. She is a professional civil engineer by trade and her career has centered around assisting municipalities in completing a wide variety of infrastructure projects.
The Michigan Works! Association’s Board of Directors is a mix of public and private sector representatives who guide the organization and enable it to effectively achieve its mission. The Board is committed to holding the association and its regional Michigan Works! members accountable to the highest possible standards in program delivery. The Board is also committed collaborating effectively with its partners to ensure the best outcomes for its customers.
“After several years serving on the Workforce Development Board for Thumbworks and then GST Michigan Works, I’m very excited to continue my service at the state level and engage with workforce leaders from around the state,” Panduren said.
Established in 1987, the Michigan Works! Association fosters high-quality employment and training programs serving employers and workers by providing support activities and a forum for information exchange for Michigan's talent development system. For more information, visit http://www.michiganworks.org, or call (517) 371-1100.
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Northern Michigan workforce development leader appointed to Michigan Works! Association board
The Michigan Works! Association today announced the appointment of Networks Northwest CEO Terry Vandercook to its board of directors.
“Terry Vandercook’s tremendous business and workforce experience will be an asset to the Michigan Works! Association board,” said Ryan Hundt, Michigan Works! Association CEO. “Our board provides critical insight to ensure positive outcomes for job seekers and employers and we are honored to have Terry join us.”
Prior to becoming the Networks Northwest CEO, Vandercook was the operations manager for a local company where he assisted agricultural employers across the country in meeting their workforce needs through the U.S. Department of Labor’s H-2A visa program. He also previously served as chief program officer at Networks Northwest and business development manager for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The Michigan Works! Association’s Board of Directors is a mix of public and private sector representatives who guide the organization and enable it to effectively achieve its mission. The Board is committed to holding the association and its regional Michigan Works! members accountable to the highest possible standards in program delivery. The Board is also committed collaborating effectively with its partners to ensure the best outcomes for its customers.
"I am truly honored to serve on the Michigan Works! Association Board and represent the workforce, businesses, and communities of Northwest Lower Michigan,” Vandercook said. “I look forward to contributing to the impactful results driving work being done through the board and its collaborative membership."
Vandercook is a Northwest Michigan native and returned to the area with his family after serving a 20 year career in the United States Air Force.
Established in 1987, the Michigan Works! Association fosters high-quality employment and training programs serving employers and workers by providing support activities and a forum for information exchange for Michigan's talent development system. For more information, visit http://www.michiganworks.org, or call (517) 371-1100.
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Michigan Works! Association Announces New Board of Directors Member
The Michigan Works! Association, the state’s primary workforce development association, today announced a new board member who will help support the nonprofit’s work to continue to move the needle on policy, education and collaboration on vital workforce development issues.
Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, has recently joined the Michigan Works! Association board.
The Michigan Works! Association, the state’s primary workforce development association, today announced a new board member who will help support the nonprofit’s work to continue to move the needle on policy, education and collaboration on vital workforce development issues.
Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, has recently joined the Michigan Works! Association board.
Gustad proudly serves the Central/Northwest Michigan region, ensuring his friends and neighbors receive the hometown service Consumers Energy aims to provide.
He is a six-year veteran of Consumers Energy, and currently works out of the Ludington Service Center. Previously, he spent over 11 years working for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians managing their training, education, and leadership development programs. He also served six years on the City of Manistee Planning Commission and three years as a City Council Member.
In the community, Gustad serves on five different regional economic development boards. He also serves on three chamber boards and three boards for charitable organizations. Eric has a strong passion for volunteering and giving back to the communities he serves.
“The bedrock of a successful workforce development system is community service,” said Ryan Hundt, CEO of the Michigan Works! Association. “With Eric’s passionate commitment and responsiveness to the needs of businesses and residents, the Michigan Works! Association is thrilled to have Eric join our board of directors as we advance the mission and objectives of our organization.”
Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Ferris State University and currently lives in Manistee with much of his family and his two dogs.
More information about the members of the Michigan Works! Association Board of Directors can be found on the Association’s website.
Interview: Ryan Hundt, CEO Michigan Works! Association, Mackinac Policy Conference
Watch Ryan and Chris discuss Michigan Works! Association and their overall focus from the #MPC22 click play on the YouTube video below.
Commentary: Federal change would worsen Michigan's talent crisis; we can fight back
While attending the Mackinac Policy Conference this year, talent and workforce were at the forefront of almost every discussion on the island. More than two years after a global pandemic forced businesses to drastically rethink talent strategies, employers are running out of creative solutions to address labor shortages. I heard the job creators in our state say over and over they desperately want politicians, government officials, educators and community leaders to focus on crafting relevant solutions to address the growing workforce challenges we face.
But there are changes being proposed by federal rule makers that would do the exact opposite. Michigan's ability to deliver substantive solutions is at serious risk as a result of newly proposed federal regulations that would decimate accessibility and human-power to deliver career support to approximately 675,000 job seekers annually, and to provide recruiting, retention and more talent attraction support to 32,000 businesses each year.
The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing a new "rule" — a change in the way programs are currently operated — for the delivery of these essential workforce services under the Wagner-Peyser Act. It wants these services to be provided by state civil service employees as opposed to the current model where local Michigan Works! staff are able to address the needs of companies and job seekers in their own communities.
Rule change proposal could force dozens of Michigan Works! locations to close
A federal rule change could impact the way employment services would have to be delivered and force the state's workforce development operation Capital Area Michigan Works! to close more than a dozen offices across the state.
The Wagner-Act was established in 1933 and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan Works! Association Ryan Hundt said that act helped establish the workforce delivery system across the country.
“We can meet the labor challenges for businesses and helping them identify qualified talent and helping those individuals through the pipeline into the businesses in all regions of the state, and we also work very closely with job seekers as well to help them identify resources that they can have or they can access in order to maintain employment,” Hundt said.
Hundt said Michigan has a flexible model allowing Michigan Works! employees to be hands on.
“We have that locally responsive, flexible model where local Michigan Works! staff are the ones interacting with businesses and job seekers every single day, helping them to identify resources to be successful in today's global economy,” Hundt said.
MichiganWorks! opposes changes to Wagner-Peyser Act
MichiganWorks! West Central is opposing possible changes to the Wegner-Peyser Act that may impact their ability to assist clients, according to Jonathan Eppley, communications and marketing manager.
Eppley requested approval by the Big Rapids City Commission of a resolution opposing the proposed changes during a commissioners’ meeting this week.
US Department of Labor proposed rule could force Michigan Works! to limit services
A proposed rule from the Biden Administration is designed to help states improve unemployment processing. But Michigan Works! says the proposal would not help Michigan.
“We’re trying to get the U.S. Department of Labor to not implement this proposed rule change and let Michigan along with the other two states keep doing it like we’re doing it,” said Bill Raymond, CEO of U.P. Michigan Works.
Business groups lobby lawmakers, governor to create state-funded college scholarships
Several major statewide and local business groups are supporting a legislative proposal to award state-funded college scholarships to 2022 high school graduates, saying it would help deal with workforce and talent shortages.
The Michigan Achievement Scholarship program would give students attending in-state four-year universities and colleges up to $6,000 a year, while those at in-state community colleges or private occupational schools could qualify for up to $3,000 annually. More than three-quarters of this year's graduating class would be eligible.
The Republican-controlled Senate backed the $361 million initiative in its budget plan, with a goal of continuing the program into future years. Talks continue among leaders in the Senate, GOP-led House and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration over tax cuts and spending priorities amid a multibillion-dollar budget surplus.
In a letter to lawmakers and the governor last week, leading business organizations said the scholarship funding would make postsecondary education more affordable and boost the number of people in the talent pipeline. The state's $1.8 billion higher education budget is lower than it was 20 years ago, even without adjusting for inflation.
"We want Michigan to continue to aim to be a Top 10 state for developing talent and attracting and retaining talent. In addition, we want Michigan to be a place for businesses to be proud to make their home. We believe the Michigan Achievement Scholarship funding in the FY 2023 budget will help accomplish this," they wrote.
Groups signing the letter include the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Business Leaders for Michigan, Michigan Manufacturers Association, Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, National Federation of Independent Business, Home Builders Association of Michigan, Michigan Works! Association and many local chambers of commerce.
The scholarships would cover tuition or mandatory fees not already offset by need-based federal Pell Grants or Michigan's tuition program for Medicaid recipients. The state currently offers tuition-free community college assistance for adults ages 25 and older and frontline pandemic workers.
Michigan Community Colleges, Universities and Hospitals Team Up to Solve the Nursing Shortage
Michigan higher education and healthcare leaders today unveiled a collaborative plan to increase educational options to produce more highly-qualified nurses and address the nursing shortage across the state.