FOR RELEASE ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2024
Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership Chosen for National Effort to Rethink and Revitalize Economies in Rural Communities
DOVER, Ohio, August 20, 2024 – The Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corporation has spearheaded an initiative to improve workforce development in the region by establishing the Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership (TVISP). CivicLab has selected this new partnership to participate in a three-year incubator to rethink and revitalize their communities by strengthening rural higher education and employment systems. Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership joins other communities participating in this cohort from states across the country, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Supported by Ascendium Education Group and ECMC Foundation, Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership will receive training, technical assistance, and direct financial support for system-level strategies that create stronger education-to-employment pathways aligned to future economies.
The Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership proudly participated in its first CivicLab event in Madison, Wisconsin, from July 30th to August 2nd.
After a national call for proposals was released, the Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership was selected through a rigorous review process and demonstrated a readiness to focus on rural redevelopment in order to strengthen the communities they call home for the future.
“We were fortunate to receive many strong applications from interested communities,” said Amber Fischvogt, Director at CivicLab. “Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership brought together the necessary partners in their community and demonstrated their readiness for a new type of conversation about rural talent development and systems building.”
Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership is a regional consortium established and aided by the Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corporation of industry leaders, educational institutions, and workforce development agencies. Its mission is to align the skills and competencies of the local workforce with the needs of key industry sectors. TVISP facilitates stakeholder collaboration to address common challenges, such as workforce shortages, skills gaps, and industry-specific training requirements.
Michael Lauber, TVISP leader, President and CEO of TuscoMFG
Michael Lauber, a TVISP leader and CEO of TuscoMFG, said, "The multi-year Civic Lab grant represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to align training and the needs of our fastest-growing manufacturers. As one of only ten rural communities nationwide chosen to participate, we get access to world-class resources to help us build careers and strengthen the economic foundation of the Tuscarawas Valley. This collaboration will make our community more globally competitive and resilient in an ever-evolving economy."
Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership joins a cohort including:
Berkeley Chamber Rural Initiative – Berkeley County, S.C.
Convening Organization: Berkeley Chamber Educational Outreach
Focus: Berkeley, Charleston, & Dorchester County
Community Education Coalition – Bartholomew County, Ind.
Convening Organization: Columbus Learning Center Management Corporation
Focus: 8-county region in south central Indiana
Expect More Tehama – Tehama County, Calif.Convening Organization: Expect More Tehama
Focus: Tehama County
FutureMakers Coalition at Collaboratory – Southwest Florida, Fla.
Convening Organization: Collaboratory
Focus: Hendry and Glades Counties
IMPACT Independence – Independence County, Ark.
Convening Organization: IMPACT Independence
Focus: Independence County
John Jay WorkReady Institute – Jay County, Ind.
Convening Organization: John Jay Center for Learning
Focus: Jay County
Our Future in UNiSON – Anston & Union Counties, N.C.
Convening Organization: Wingate University
Focus: Anston & Union Counties
Southeast Ohio Career System Builders – Southeast Ohio, Ohio
Convening Organization: Building Bridges to Careers, Inc.
Focus: 25-county region in southeast Ohio
Western Montana Care Workforce Collaborative – Ravalli & Lake Counties, Mont.
Convening Organization: University of Montana
Focus: Ravalli & Lake Counties[DP3]
tvisp/civiclab team:
[Back row, left to right] Frank Polen, Matthew Kimberley, Paul Dykshoorn [Front row, left to right] Marla Akridge, Kenneth Poland, Michael Lauber, Janine Garber
Marla Akridge – Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corp.
James C. Shively (alternate) – Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corp.
John Kelly (alternate) – Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corp.
Michael Lauber – TuscoMFG
Janine Garber – Allied Machine & Engineering
Kenneth Poland– Ohio Manufacturing Association
Frank Polen – Buckeye Career Center
Paul Dykshoorn – Kent State University at Tuscarawas
Alicia Robertson – Battle Motors
Matthew Kimberley (alternate) – Battle Motors
The initiative launched in July 2024 with a team from Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership attending a three-day institute focused on stakeholder engagement and system building tools. A total of six institutes will be provided over the three-year period.
Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership will also receive new data sets and methodologies to support a new approach to economic development. CivicLab will provide their spatial diversity census books and new methods of qualitative data collection and analysis to each community, supplementing their existing use of labor market data.
“Communities have historically relied solely on labor market projections when making economic and talent development decisions,” explained Dakota Pawlicki, director of Talent Hubs at CivicLab. “By bringing new data sets rooted in place and people, we are equipping rural communities with a comprehensive and home-grown approach to community vitality.”
Each partnership in the program will co-create a workplan that builds upon their existing strategies and work towards their unique goals. These plans go beyond organizational strategic plans, and focus entirely on what a community can achieve only by working together.
The Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership is excited to embark on this transformative journey with CivicLab and our fellow cohort members. Through this collaborative effort, we are committed to driving positive change in our community by building stronger connections between education and employment. Together, we will create pathways that not only meet the needs of our local industries but also empower our residents with the skills and opportunities they need to thrive. This partnership marks a significant step forward in our mission to ensure that the Tuscarawas Valley remains a vibrant and resilient region for generations to come.
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About Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership: The Tuscarawas Valley Industry Sector Partnership (TVISP) is a dynamic regional consortium established under the guidance of the Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corporation. TVISP brings together industry leaders, educational institutions, and workforce development agencies to address the local economy's unique challenges. The partnership is focused on aligning the skills and competencies of the Tuscarawas Valley workforce with the needs of key industry sectors, ensuring that local businesses have access to a skilled and ready workforce. https://www.tuscedc.com/workforce-development/tvisp
About Ascendium Education Group: Ascendium Education Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping people reach the education and career goals that matter to them. Ascendium invests in initiatives designed to increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who complete postsecondary degrees, certificates and workforce training programs, with an emphasis on first-generation students, incarcerated adults, rural community members, students of color and veterans. Ascendium's work identifies, validates and expands best practices to promote large-scale change at the institutional, system and state levels, with the intention of elevating opportunity for all. For more information, visit https://www.ascendiumphilanthropy.org.
About CivicLab: CivicLab, (a program of the Community Education Coalition) is a nonprofit institute dedicated to advancing the practice of civic collaboration and leading complex social systems. CivicLab’s approach is to: 1) learn what makes community collaboration work at its best, 2) document the discoveries, and 3) teach and share the practices broadly. The purpose of the work is to help communities increase their collective capacity—which is their ability to get things done, together. Since its inception, CivicLab has partnered with over 300 communities and organizations across the U.S. and trained more than 14,000 leaders of foundations, educational institutions, government, corporations, and community development organizations.
CivicLab is the home of Talent Hubs and the National Talent Network. The Talent Hub designation signifies that a local or regional cross-sector partnership has met rigorous standards for creating environments that attract, retain, and cultivate talent, particularly among today’s students, many of whom are people of color, the first in their families to go to college, and from low-income households. The designation serves both as an aspirational target for other cities to aim for and a platform from which cities designated as Talent Hubs can build. The National Talent Network is a group of nearly 100 cross-sector partnerships working collaboratively to connect learning to economic opportunity in the places they call home.
About ECMC Foundation: ECMC Foundation is a national, private foundation whose North Star goal is to eliminate equity gaps in postsecondary completion by 2040. The Foundation’s mission is to improve higher education for career success among underserved populations through evidence-based innovation. ECMC Foundation makes strategic grants and program-related investments to support both nonprofit and for-profit ventures, guided by a strategic framework which aims to advance systemic change by removing barriers to postsecondary completion; building the capacity of organizations, institutions, and systems; and transforming the postsecondary ecosystem. Learn more about ECMC Foundation by visiting www.ecmcfoundation.org and our parent company, ECMC Group, by visiting www.ecmcgroup.org.
CivicLab Media Contact:
Dakota Pawlicki
CivicLab
815-245-3222
dpawlicki@civiclab.org
For more information, visit https://www.rurallearningsystems.org.
Media Contact:
James C. Shively
Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corp
330-401-3623