CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH MARTY FITTANTE
—Photos courtesy of U.P. Construction Council—
The Upper Peninsula Workforce Resiliency Through Partnership recently met in Escanaba to discuss strategies to develop and retain a skilled workforce throughout the region.
It was sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Construction Council and the Michigan Building & Construction Trades Council, and was presided over by Marty Fittante, who is the CEO of Invest U.P. He says he was impressed by how everyone in the room listened to each other’s points-of-view on these issues.
“Despite really divergent interests that they represent, to come together to have that conversation, and to see, from their perspective, that’s really not an either-or proposition,” Fittante told RRN News. “To have skilled trades at the same table, and have the conversation alongside university leadership, I think it really highlights the sincerity that we have here to find solutions.”
The event was titled “Building a more resilient UP by identifying, developing, and retaining a skilled workforce.” Among those in attendance were Northern Michigan University President Brock Testman, the director of U.P. MI Works, Deb Brunell, Phil Meneghini from Enbridge Energy, and Jeremy Menard from the Billerud Paper Mill.
“There is room to navigate this to allow those who are going into the workforce to either go into education and go into skilled trades, or to start in skilled trades and then skill-up through community colleges at the university level,” Fittante said. “How do you use apprenticeships, how do you use internships, to maybe give those entering the workforce a better understanding of what the job actually looks like?”
There were also high-ranking people from Governor Whitmer’s administration on hand, including the deputy director of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Sean Egan. Sue Corbin from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth was also there.
Comments