< Previous38 BUS I N E SS I N U T A Himportant needs in society. Our instruction is superb, and the hands-on, engaged learning environment we provide ensures our graduates leave with coveted certificates and a quality education. In short, CHPS is the solution to many of the problems the world is facing today.” Located in Utah’s capital city, Salt Lake Community College offers students an urban campus environment and affordability. With 10 campuses in the Salt Lake Valley, more than 61,000 students are served by SLCC each year. SLCC offers more than 120 programs of study and is a Top 10 school for awarding associate degrees. Some 73 percent of SLCC students transfer to a four-year university after graduating. SLCC President Deneece Huftalin says the college stands apart from other higher education institutions in the state for its flexibility and diversity of programs as well as its workforce responsiveness. “We have significantly improved our industry partnerships,” she says. “One of the ways we’ve done that is looking at the Utah economic clusters and the high-demand jobs and reimagining our curriculum with industry partners to provide shorter term training options for students to get them out in the field. And then stackable credentials that helped them come back when they can continue their education.” SLCC offers several programs in response to workforce needs through pathways in aerospace, diesel technology, medical device technology, information technology and is considering adding a building construction program in the future.Huftalin says she’s a huge believer in the benefits of earning a certificate that allows students to return to their education when they’re ready. “If you don’t have a four-year degree or an associate degree but have several certificates and want to move up in a company, I’m a big advocate for coming back to school. I think many of the skills that our industry partners say they want can be found in our general education courses — writing, and working with diverse groups, problem solving intercultural communications.”Reshaping Higher EducationGov. Herbert has called on the state’s public education, technical colleges and the system for higher education to address the needs of the state’s growing economy and workforce needs. He’s proclaimed 2018 to be the “Year of Technical Education.”Building on a year full of changes for the Utah System of Technical Colleges, the state legislature made changes to the governance of what was previously known as the Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT) and its eight campuses across the state. UCAT is now called the Utah Systems of Technical Colleges. All eight campuses were also renamed as technical colleges — a designation that elevates the colleges and their roles in preparing students for the workforce. “Any program that we teach at a technical college has an advisory committee that’s made up of representation from industry in that particular region of the state.”— David Woolstenhulme, Commissioner of Technical EducationMore than 32,000 students attended classes at a technical college in Utah in 2016-2017. The system offers dual enrollment opportunities for high school students, stackable certificate and degree pathway programs that allow students to be job ready at every step along their academic career, and Custom Fit programs that are designed to meet the training needs of Utah business. Each year, more than 1,500 local companies contract with one of the eight technical colleges, Utah State University Easter or Snow College to provide training to employees. Across the system, employer advisory committees with more than 1,400 members are helping to ensure the systems course offerings align with industry needs. The system boasts a higher-than-average job placement rate for certificate-seeking students of 87 percent. “Any program that we teach at a technical college has an advisory committee that’s made up of representation from industry in that particular region of the state. They’re really the ones that set the curriculum, that are managing the curriculum,” says David Woolstenhulme, Commissioner of Technical Education, noting programs like Information Technology, which can demand new skills as technology changes. These industry partners are critical. “At the end of the day, they’re the ones hiring these folks,” he adds. Students in lab at Jordan CampusPhoto courtesy of Salt Lake Community Collegehere’s a depth of history in Vernal, Utah. It’s in the thousand-year-old petroglyphs painted on a cliff face at Dry Fork Canyon and has been buried underground for millions of years at Dinosaur National Monument. Vernal, located in Uintah County in the northeast corner of the state some miles from Colorado, is also known by another name — Dinosaurland. Every year, close to a million people visit Uintah County to see the region’s sights. Dinosaur National Monument is , acres spread across both states and is the only place in the world where visitors can see and touch more than , dinosaur fossils where they fell some million years ago. Visitors to the area can also view fascinating petroglyphs and pictographs left by the Fremont Indians thousands of years ago. Vernal is also home to three state parks with excellent hiking, biking, boating and fi shing opportunities and some of the most unique geographical features in the world at parks like Fantasy Canyon and the Moonshine Arch. Joel Brown, executive director of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce, says the region’s prehistoric attractions and its outdoor recreation are some of the biggest draws to the area. “There are a lot of great, wonderful things in this community that attract businesses and keep people here,” he says. With so many natural resources in one area, it comes as no surprise that the region has a long history with the oil and gas industry. But when the price of crude oil dropped dramatically in and , many of the region’s jobs also vanished. “We’ve seen the ups and downs of the economy with the changes in the oil and gas industry,” Brown says. “But our workforce is good, and unemployment is coming down. We were hit a bit harder than the rest of the state, but we’ve got a talented workforce.”With a population of about ,, Vernal by S AVAN N AH K I N GTVERNAL: FROM PREHISTORY TO HIGH-TECH OPPORTUNITYV E R N A L — R E G I O N P R O F I L ERed Fleet State Park, Vernal, UTPhoto courtesy of Visit Utah40 BUS I N E SS I N U T A HB U S I N E S S I N U T A H 41is, by definition, a small town. But it’s still big enough to offer businesses plenty of opportunity. “We recently formed Uin-Tech, which is basically a committee of commissioners, the mayor, the chamber of commerce and some local business leaders in the community to help work toward diversifying the economy,” says Brown.The council has led to the establishment of a partnership with Uintah Basin Technical College and Strata Networks to prepare students to enter technology fields. Strata Networks recently opened a new data center in Vernal that will allow people and businesses in the Uintah Basin to get access to the cloud. “This is a homegrown company that works with local businesses to solve internet problems, and they brought fiber optics to the area,” Brown says. “For such a small community, having fiber optics is a big win for us, and recently they’ve partnered with UB Tech to provide funding for an IT program.”Strata Network Operations Manager Brent Simmons said developing talent and services in the basin is part of the company’s mission. “We hope to be able to attract talented people to come work in this space. We intend to market this service to customers outside of the Basin as well. It’s about helping the community and the economics of the community as well.”Outside of the opportunities for high-tech companies, Brown says there’s a quality of life in the Vernal area that simply can’t be found anywhere else in the world.“We have a vibrant, up-and-coming community,” he says. “The great thing about Vernal is that we’re close to outdoor recreation. We’ve got mountain biking right outside your door. We’ve got ATV trails, equestrian trails, snowmobiling trails and places that are just incredible.” 42 BUS I N E SS I N U T A Hounded by pioneers in the s, Morgan County is still building on its early history as a destination for people and businesses looking toward the future. Nestled between Ogden and Park City near the Interstate / loop, Morgan is a region rich with opportunity and an amazing quality of life. When Morgan Area Chamber President Gavin McCleary fi rst moved to the area, he said he was stunned by the region’s scenery. “One of the biggest eye openers that I had was going to bed at night and it’s pitch black and there are just so many stars,” McCleary says. “There’s not this glow of city light, its extra quiet and peaceful.”Descriptions like that make it easy to understand why , people choose to live in Morgan County, most of whom commute to work. The average commute time in Morgan County is about minutes, most people travel to Salt Lake City for work. “Eighty percent of Morgan County works outside of Morgan County,” he MOR G A N C OU N T Y — R E G I ON P R OF I L EFMorgan County: A Breath of Fresh Airby S AVAN N AH K I N GEast Canyon State Park, UtahPhoto courtesy of Utah Office of Tourism B U S I N E S S I N U T A H 43says. “It’s kind of been a destination place to live and most of our population commutes outside of the county to work. What’s attractive about this area is the clean air, the mountains, the land isn’t congested, and it’s not overpopulated. It’s a quaint mountainous area to live.”It’s also a great place to work and see companies succeed. Morgan County’s job growth rate is one of the best in the state with an . percent increase and an unemployment rate among the lowest in the state at . percent. For more than a century, Browning has been a major economic contributor to the Morgan County economy. Today the fi rearm and outdoor product manufacturer operates it business functions from the Morgan offi ce and its research and development. Innovative Structural Solutions, based in Morgan, was named one of Utah’s Rural Businesses of the Year by the Governor’s Offi ce of Economic Development. The company’s ,-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Morgan makes components for the constution industry. Kim Blackburn, managing partners and director of operations for Innovative Structural Solutions, said he wanted to locate his company in a smaller community and ultimately landed on Morgan for its affordability, proximity to the interstate and the people. “The people that I’ve hired are dependable, hardworking, they’re great employees,” Blackburn says. As a business owner himself, McCleary says the region’s rural profi le opens opportunities for incentives for entrepreneurs and small business owners. “We are considered a rural county and there are rural incentives from the state and different federal departments,” he says. “It’s attractive because you’re close enough to a big city with a big population but can get a sense of being in a small county.” Small business owners can also fi nd resources at The Morgan Business Resource Center, which opened in through Davis Technical College. It is a satellite campus of the Northfront Business Resource Center in Kaysville, on the college campus. The center includes offi ce space and amenities rentals as well as counseling and mentorship and Custom Fit programs that help local employers train their workforce. 44 BUS I N E SS I N U T A HC E D A R C I T Y — R E G I O N P R O F I L Eith a nickname like Festival City USA, it’s hardly a surprise that Cedar City offers an exceptional quality of life. But it’s also a prime location for businesses looking to celebrate growth and success. In addition to its proximity to Utah’s national and state parks, the area is also close to several ski resorts and even has its own golf course. Cedar City is called the “Festival City USA” for its many popular festivals that include the Tony Award Winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Games, the Cedar City Livestock and Heritage Festival and Groovefest American Music Festival. Located in the southwest corner of the state, Cedar City is a growing community with easy access to Interstate , Cedar City, with a population of ,, is the largest city in Iron County and is expected to continue growing over the next decade. By , Cedar City’s population is expected to grow to more than percent to just over , people. The area’s economy is diverse with a focus on developing clusters around tourism, manufacturing, renewable energy and small business development. Companies like Genpak, American pacifi c Corp., Metalcraft Technologies and GAF call Cedar City home.Iron County Offi ce of Economic Development along with the Governor’s Offi ce of Economic Development and the Economic Development Corp. of Utah, helped to attract several companies to the area and help expand existing companies. WCedar City: Where Businesses Go to CelebrateCedar Breaks National MonumentPhoto: Getty Imagesby S AVAN N AH K I N GB U S I N E S S I N U T A H 45Muller Industries opened a new, state-of-the-art copper manufacturing facility in Cedar City in 2017. The Tennessee-based company produces copper tube parts and is expected to create some 125 jobs over the next several years. For the last two decades, Decorworx has grown in Cedar City and has since become a preferred vendor for independent supermarkets across the country. The company revitalized a historic building in the city’s downtown and will create 164 jobs over the next few years. The region is also a hotbed for renewable energy and solar energy development. More than 12 utility-scare solar energy power plants and 17 solar projects have been developed in the county recently on more than 7,000 acres. Iron County offers a well-educated workforce, with both Southern Utah University (SU) and Southwest Tech College (STU). Both institutions have partnered with each other to offer high school students in the region a Dual Enrollment Program that allows high school students to earn college credits before graduating. The two campuses are located six blocks from each other and have a history of working together to develop programs and credentials. SU has been ranked as one of the Best in the West by U.S. News and World Report for its strength at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The university is also well-known for its affordability and for being the “Most Outdoorsy University” with more than 20 national parks and monuments within a five-hour drive. SU is also known as “The University of the Parks.” 46 BUS I N E SS I N U T A HINF R A S T R U C T UR Eegacy, tradition and heritage are always strong in Utah. There’s no reason major developments should be any different.Take the Point of the Mountain development, for example, where acres owned by the State of Utah surrounding a state penitentiary site in Draper are beginning a transformation into a model high-tech community. Among the many stakeholders leading the way is Utah Development and Construction, which takes its name from the company led by Marriner Eccles that was a primary force behind the construction of one of the engineering marvels of the world: Hoover Dam.Or consider this: May , , will mark the sesquicentennial of the famous fi nal railroad spike driven into the nation’s fi rst transcontinental railroad in Promontory, Utah.“It’s still astonishing to me to think that, four years after the Civil War, the country had the audacity to connect both coasts by rail,” says Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), “and we still trade off of that today. I think the Inland Port is next level of that for us.”That’s the logistics hub slated to take shape in the northwest quadrant — shorthand for the L by AD AM B R U N SPoints of ProgressThe Point of the Mountain will create a dynamic live-work-play community at the former site of a state penitentiary in Draper, in an area already home to high-tech fi rms such as Adobe and eBay.HOK rendering courtesy of Envision UtahB U S I N E S S I N U T A H 47area defined by the intersection of I-80 and I-15 and bordered by the Great Salt Lake. Incubating for decades, the vision behind the inland port is simply to recreate a national crossroads legacy for the 21st century, including one of the only new-build airports in the country and a new inland hub.The idea, says Foxley, is to “create a multimodal hub that would allow for the state to partner with a deepwater port to transload containers of goods, clear customs here and be dis-tributed throughout the U.S., and utilize that same logistics infra-structure to value-add goods in this community and create some manufacturing and export opportunities.”Helping the state do that will be a legislatively created inland port authority now in its final stages of organization, empow-ered with tax-increment financ-ing authority. Also helping is U.S. Free-Trade Zone No. 30, opera-tional since nearly the beginning of the FTZ program, and recently granted alternative site frame-work status, meaning the zone’s benefits can be conferred to indi-vidual project sites in the region.The plan fits in well with the state’s new Mega Site program, launched in May 2018. Bench-marking against the best pro-grams in the nation, EDCUtah collaborated with the University of Utah’s Masters of Real Estate Development to ultimately iden-tify more than 20 properties that could be certified. The first one is in Elberta, well to the south of Salt Lake City, and another one around 400 acres in size has been identified in part of a master-planned industrial park in the northwest quadrant being assembled by a group of local communities in concert with Rio Tinto.Foxley says the Mega Site pro-gram is focused on large users The Utah Department of Transportation’s Top 10 construction projects for 2018 include $450 million to widen the I-15 Technology Corridor to six lanes in both directions, as well as a new overpass and upgraded interchanges.Next >