January 24, 2002
INFORMATION: Sue Bozman or John McElwain, (661) 362-3415 or 3494

'CEO Forum' to Help Business Leaders Anticipate Future Needs

Leaders of local business and industry will have the opportunity to come together to anticipate future workforce development, training and retention issues during the "CEO Forum for the Future" at the Hyatt Valencia / Santa Clarita Conference Center on March 14.

Participants will meet in small groups to address future needs in terms of workforce training and skills, issues affecting success both locally and globally, employee attraction and retention, and ways for employers and employees to share responsibility for professional development.

Sponsored by the Valencia Industrial Association (VIA), the forum is scheduled 7:30 to 9 a.m. Although invitations for the event will go out in February, any chief executive from a Santa Clarita Valley business may attend.

Reservations may be made and more information obtained by calling Kathy Norris, executive director of the VIA, at (661) 294-8088.

The event is the third such CEO Forum sponsored by the VIA. During the first forum in 1994, chief executives, community leaders and educators emphasized the need to retool the workforce to allow companies to successfully diversify from defense to commercial manufacturing and expand into new markets. As a result, the VIA and the College of the Canyons Employee Training Institute developed a project funded by the Employment Training Panel that has provided financial support for skills training for both employers and employees.

Top priorities identified during the 1999 forum included communication, problem-solving and team skills. In response, the VIA developed an annual competition for K-12 students to work in teams to develop websites for local businesses.

The project was designed to build relationships between the educational community and local businesses, as well as help students develop important workforce skills. More than 200 students from 40 schools have participated, and more than 20 businesses have supported the project.

Student entries are awarded first-, second- and third-place prizes in elementary, junior high and high school categories. Winning teams earn computer labs for their schools, upgraded by students from College of the Canyons. Over the past two years, nearly 300 computers have been awarded to local schools as part of the contest.