By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting Are you trying to attract workers to your manufacturing facility to help increase capacity and meet customer demand?  In previous articles, I provided ideas for attracting workers, including offering apprenticeship opportunities for your most in-demand jobs and partnering with non-profits and state resources (check out this article on effective recruiting

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting Apprenticeships work!  To prove this out, all you need to do is look at the statistics from the Department of Labor: 94% of apprentices retain employment after completing the apprenticeship. Registered apprenticeships offer the employer flexibility to ensure workers have the skills the employer needs to do valuable jobs. Registered

Hiring is one challenge. Training, and retaining, the right people is another. For many Texas employers, the issue isn’t just finding talent. It’s keeping skills current as the business evolves.That’s where a new opportunity from the Texas Workforce Commission comes in. The ASCEND Grant (Advancing Skills, Capabilities, and Expertise for New Development) is a workforce

Finding and training reliable employees isn’t getting any easier, especially for small businesses. At the same time, many owners are starting to think more seriously about the future. Not just hiring for today, but building a team that can sustain the business long-term. That’s exactly where a new opportunity from the Kansas Department of Commerce

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting You have all heard the news.  Tariffs are driving up prices of foreign goods.  Fuel and oil prices are soaring due to ongoing conflicts.  Experience from the pandemic showed us that not having a reliable US supply of many goods causes severe production disruptions for many manufacturers. At the same

By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting While finding and getting grants, there are many opportunities and reasons to contact grant funders.  After all, they can be a very helpful source of information and provide clarification if something in the Request for Proposals (RFPs) is unclear.  In addition, they can help when there is an issue with