Building Top-Tier Talent in Arkansas
Arkansas is transforming its workforce development strategy with a bold reorganization. Last March, the Arkansas Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Services was restructured into three new divisions: Re-employment, Arkansas Workforce Connections and Workforce Policy & Innovation. This new framework is designed to establish a seamless system where job training, career development and re-employment services work together more effectively while increasing outreach.
At the forefront of this transformation is Cody Waits, the inaugural director of the Arkansas Workforce Connections division. After serving as the director of the Arkansas Office of Skills Development, a division of the Department of Commerce, from 2019 to 2023 and as deputy director of the Department of Career Education from 2017 to 2019, Waits brings years of experience in workforce development to the table. Yet he says this career found him by chance. A Fort Smith native, Waits is driven by the ability to create solutions that yield positive results for the state of Arkansas. In this interview, he shares insights into how this new division plans to accomplish that.
How would you describe the Arkansas workforce?
CODY WAITS: Growing! Additionally, the Arkansas workforce is more technically trained and skilled than ever before. We just announced another increase in our labor force participation rate this month, moving it up to 58.1%, which represents an increase from 57.6% in September of 2023. The Arkansas workforce is also very resilient, hardworking, and people in Arkansas want to work.
In which industries are you seeing the highest demand for skilled workers?
WAITS: There’s demand everywhere right now whether it is manufacturing, construction, transportation, health care or IT and others that I could certainly continue to list. The good news? If you want a job, there is plenty of opportunity available here in Arkansas, and what is exciting is how we continue to expand the businesses that are currently here and attract new businesses to the state. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission is doing a great job on that front. Now we have to continue building the workforce to make their job easier.
What specific workforce challenges does Arkansas face today, and how are you addressing them?
WAITS: It’s just math at this point. We need more workers in the workforce, which is why we are proud to see that our labor force participation is continuing to move in the right direction. We have a goal to increase our labor force participation rate by another 48,000 Arkansans by 2028, which would move our labor force participation rate closer to 60%. In order to do that, we have to continue to invest in career and technical education — which is our pipeline — and identify the adult populations that are on the sideline for whatever reason and get them back into the workforce.
What are the Arkansas Workforce Connections division’s key priorities and initiatives currently?
WAITS: Realignment of our organization is currently in process with some aspects already completed. We are in the final stages now of bringing over the last division which will represent our business engagement strategy focusing on how we strategically support all programs underneath the Workforce Connections umbrella with one group leading our business engagement efforts. Historically, we had many different business engagement groups housed within the different agencies under Workforce Connections, which created a lot of duplication, less than desirable outcomes and lots of redundancies.
Another priority is increasing the amount of funding being granted to local workforce development boards for training via the Office of Employment & Training, which houses our Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding. These are federal funds that we want to see spent more on training Arkansans who are in search of work and seeking to upskill or reskill themselves into a family sustaining career. Many times, these funds get spent on administrative costs. We understand some percentage has to be spent on administrative expenses, but we know we can get more funds to our local workforce development board partners to fund training efforts, which helps our institutions of higher education as our primary training providers in the state but also helps the entire ecosystem when we spend more money on training.
One more priority is building the pipeline of workers from K-12 Career and technical education programs via the Office of Skills Development, which has historically been the agency that funds most workforce development projects in the state. They also operate as the State of Arkansas’ office of apprenticeship and oversee, in coordination with the Department of Education, the secondary career and technical education centers. The Secondary Career Centers are witnessing increases in enrollments in our programs of study that align with workforce and economic development priorities to the point that we had north of a 20% increase in enrollment. The strategies that have been put into action to help students get more accustomed to what these careers look like such as Be Pro Be Proud and investments in virtual reality that we have made over the past few years have really paid off, and we don’t intend on slowing down.
Could you share some examples of partnerships with local institutions of higher education to develop training programs?
WAITS: We work closely with institutions of higher education across the state of Arkansas, whether that be community colleges, four-year universities or Northwest Technical Institute. In Arkansas, we have the University of Arkansas system, the Arkansas State University system and many independent universities that we collaborate with on several different projects where we provide funding and support to establish curriculum, fund equipment purchases or provide consultative services.
The Fiber Broadband Academy, a partnership with three community colleges, is one I would point to, and the Arkansas Steelmaking Academy in partnership with Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville (Mississippi County). This area has become the largest steel producing county in the nation and we have established the steelmaking academy to support that industry. South Arkansas University Tech has been a strong partner of ours in supporting the defense industry in south Arkansas. We have supported the development, funding and equipping of their training programs as well as apprenticeship programs in the region.
Northwest Technical Institute will soon be the premier location for Ammonia Refrigeration and Boiler Training in Northwest Arkansas. Industry, state, and local partnerships have invested significantly in the development of this facility and in a few short months it will be a destination for all employers in the state of Arkansas and across the U.S. for companies to access high-quality training in these areas.
How does your division collaborate with industry leaders and local businesses to ensure workers are equipped with the right skills?
WAITS: We host employer forums and meet with businesses regularly to understand what the industry trends are currently, and what type of technology may be installed in the next 12 to 24 months. Everything we do is employer driven and anything we fund must have private sector input and partnerships. The other aspect of this is our extensive relationships with industry associations such as the Trucking Association, Association of Builders & Contractors, Associated Industries of Arkansas, Hospital and Healthcare Associations, etc. Their input is invaluable to our organization.
Additionally, the Career Education Workforce Development Board as well as the State Workforce Development Board are industry driven in membership. We routinely reach out to those industry professionals to understand dynamics of the industry prior to committing to certain projects. We need that industry input, and they are the ones that can either give us the answer directly or put us in touch with someone who knows the answer.