Friday, July 11, 2003
To compete in a brainpower economy, your community will need new education partnerships among business firms, K-12 and post-secondary education.
Here's a model program from Flathead Valley, Montana.
Through the Flathead Business and Education Council, business, K-12 and community college leaders struck a bargain...for mutual benefit.
In discussions within the Council, educators learned how to better design courses to prepare students for success in their working lives. These skills are not widely understood in our secondary or post-secondary schools. They include such skills as working in groups, analyzing problems, and communicating effectively.
The business community contributed by pinpointing travel and tourism, health care, construction, retail and financial services as economic growth areas for the college to target with training programs.
In addition, businesses provided opportunities for internships and job shadowing for on-the-job training experiences. Businesses also used the community college's resources to obtain technical training for their own employees.
You can follow the outlines of this approach in any community at both the secondary and post-secondary level. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Elements of a bargain
