The Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) held their annual Fall Luncheon yesterday, Oct. 19, at the Heathman Lodge.
The event was well attended by numerous members of the Southwest Washington community, and attendees were greeted by some opening remarks and updates on the Clark County Comprehensive Economic Development Plan by CREDC President Michael Bomar.
According to the development plan: “Our vision is for Clark County to be recognized as one of the most inclusive, healthy and amenity-rich communities in the country. As a result, and with a continued focus on growing a diverse base of community-minded employers, talent (both inside and outside the region) sees greater opportunity here than anywhere else in the country.”
The focus of the Oct. 19 panel discussion revolved around recruiting and training/grooming employees for several industries that are currently in need of skilled professionals, including computer and electronics; clean tech; software; metals and machinery and life sciences.
The five industry experts on the panel addressed questions such as what they look for when hiring employees, how educational institutions can better prepare students for jobs in those industries, how they plan to keep employees working in Clark County instead of going to Oregon or other states, and more.
The panel included Jim Short, Analog Devices; Wei Plan, Novasis Energy; Mei Wu, SmartRG, Inc.; Bryan Goodman, Columbia Machine, Inc.; and Sean McClain, AbSci.
