ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS & INVESTOR UPDATES
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Opportunity Stanislaus Announces Expansion Of Its ACT WorkKeys Program |
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Dear Opportunity Stanislaus Investors:
We are happy to announce that Gavin Bruce has been trained and licensed as an official ACT® WorkKeys® Profiler. That means that Gavin can work with your company to do profiles for specific positions to see what skills those positions require. The profiles determine what WorkKeys assessments are needed and what scores in those assessments are required for a job candidate to be qualified.
ACT® WorkKeys® assessments are a collection of proctored tests that measure the most important workplace skills affecting an individual’s job performance, and are the basis for the National Career Readiness Certificate® (NCRC)—the nation’s most recognized work readiness credential. Issued at four-levels of achievement, the NCRC measures and certifies the essential work skills needed for success in jobs across industries and occupations.
WorkKeys saves employers time and money by ensuring that good fit candidates meet the qualifications for jobs that have been profiled. When an employer hires a person and finds out later that the employee does not have the right qualifications, it places an extra burden on the employer to either provide additional training to the employee or may necessitate going back to the drawing board and finding a new employee.
Gavin has been with Opportunity Stanislaus for six years and has experience as a Workforce Development Manager. A normal profile can cost up to $4,000 per profile to administer. As investors in Opportunity Stanislaus we are offering you free profiles based on your level of investment. Please contact Gavin Bruce to learn more at gbruce@opportunitystanislaus.com or at (209) 422-4526.
Best Regards,
Dave White,
Chief Executive Officer
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VOLT Welcomes New Instructor
As VOLT Institute continues to grow so does its staff. Last month the team hired Robert (Bob) Reinig, a Navy veteran with 49 years of experience in mechanical systems, to be its new Lead Instructor.
Bob spent 15 years as a contractor for the federal government and 34 years in the private sector growing his expertise in troubleshooting, installation, and repair of mechanical systems. Bob spent some of that time with Carpenter Company in Lathrop where he maintained and programmed PLC control system and then continued on to J.R. Simplot where he maintained, repaired and installed instrumentation that included flowmeters, pressure indicators and controls.
A resident of Lathrop, Bob is married with three children, five stepchildren, 21 grandkids and two great grandkids.
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Modesto Irrigation District appoints former leader of
Moorhead Public Service as General Manager
The Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors appointed Bill Schwandt as the District’s General Manager during their November 10 Board meeting. Schwandt joins MID following a 35-year career with Moorhead Public Service in Moorhead, Minnesota. He had served as Moorhead Public Service’s General Manager for 28 years.
“Bill’s strong leadership and strategic vision will drive our continued efforts to maintain operational excellence and protect our long-standing water rights,” said MID Board President Paul Campbell. “We look forward to the ideas and innovations he will bring to MID.”
Schwandt’s duties as General Manager of Moorhead Public Service included managing professional and technical teams in electric, water and telecommunications utilities under the Moorhead Public Service Commission. He led strategic planning, critical infrastructure planning development and management, and long-term water supply, power supply and transmission agreements and negotiations. CONTINUE READING
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Get Reimbursed for Up to 10k In COVID Business Expenses |
The WORK Safe Stanislaus Reopening Assistance Program is a $500,000 total award program that is designed to assist businesses that have been adversely affected by COVID-19 through reimbursement funds for Personal Protective Equipment and other related equipment/service that were necessary purchases to keep the business open and from laying off employees. This program is funded through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act and funds will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. The program application process will open on October 26, 2020 and close on January 29, 2021 or when all award money is gone. Consideration of reimbursement will be given for purchases that fit the scope of this program and that were made between May 1, 2020 through January 29, 2021. Maximum $10,000 reimbursement per business. Visit their website for more details.
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Opportunity Stanislaus Staff Member Transitions to County Board of Supervisors
Economic Development Specialist Channce Condit will be leaving Opportunity Stanislaus effective December 31, 2020.
Channce was elected to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on November 3rd with 60% of the vote in District 5. Channce has been a tireless advocate for economic growth and a dedicated employee since joining our team in 2019.
While we will miss him, we are proud of his election to a position of leadership and have confidence that he will be an effective representative for the people of Stanislaus County.
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Looking to Provide Free HR Training for Your Employees? We Can Help
As part of its Human Resources Concierge Program Opportunity Stanislaus is proud to present a training webinar on Identifying and Coordinating Leaves of Absences. This 90-minute training is provided by HR expert Stephen Keyzers and will be held Wednesday, December 16 at 1 pm. The training is sponsored by Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center. As always training is free for OS investors. To register click here.
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From Marketing to Training Get The Help You Need From the Valley Sierra SBDC |
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In a time when businesses are struggling the free help Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center provides is a blessing. In addition to a wide range of free training (visit their website to see offerings), they also provide help with digiital marketing.
Here are 5 FREE tools that small businesses can use for Digital Marketing:
1. Unsplash - Website of collected stock images that are free to use on websites, ads, and social media. You can use any image without worrying about copyright claims!
2. Canva - Graphics editing software where you can create banners for your website, Facebook event covers, Instagram images, and more!
3. Google My Business - Tool that manages your business's online presence and will make your business stand out on Google searches. You can edit your business information, post deals, and respond directly to customer questions!
4. Grammarly - Tool that corrects the grammar, word choice, and spelling on written content. It proofreads everything you write before it gets sent out!
5. Hootsuite - Post Management tool that schedules posts and tracks engagement on published content. You can schedule out posts weeks in advance!
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Help us help you by taking our quick five-minute survey. This is your chance to weigh in on how you think we are doing and how we can better serve your business! Click here to take the survey.
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Did you know Stanislaus County has an organization offering a free seven month education in coding? To learn more about Bay Valley Tech click here.
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