Siskiyou County Seeds of Opportunity

March 6, 2008

The Workforce Connection in partnership with the Siskiyou County Economic Development Council (SCEDC), Jefferson Economic Development Institute (JEDI), and College of the Siskiyous (COS), Small Business Development Center, Siskiyou Daily News and the Mt. Shasta Area Newspapers sponsored Siskiyou County’s first Wired event “Seeds of Opportunity”.

Approximately 75 individuals attended the event at the Miner’s Inn Convention Center in Yreka, CA. Numerous businesses owners, local government leaders, and lenders were present. Speakers included Jim Cook, District 1 Supervisor, who discussed the current State of the County and their commitment to economic development. Susan Molyneux, EDD, gave a brief overview of Siskiyou County industries that have grown since 2002. Tonya Dowse, SCEDC Executive Director, spoke about the new Siskiyou County Enterprise Zone designation and the benefits to business.

Nancy Swift, JEDI Executive Director facilitated the entrepreneur panel discussion, which included dialog on starting a new business, how to access funding, marketing tools, what challenges each business faced and their successes.

Jack Schultz was the keynote speaker of the event. Jack was most gracious when he toured several of our “small cities” prior to the event, to get a feel for what is going on here in Siskiyou County. Jack spoke about how Siskiyou County needs to embrace entrepreneurs and promote small business startups. He also stated “Communities come to forks in the road, when they have to decide what to do,” referring to Siskiyou County’s challenge of moving from a timber-based economy to an economy led by entrepreneurs, tourists, retirees and the attraction of small manufacturing firms.

Jeff Cummings, Dean of Career and Technical Education at COS, announced to the group that the Seeds of Opportunity was planned as a “kick-off”, and the partnership that has been formed will be sponsoring a follow-up event: Siskiyou County Sustainable Business Summit “Investing in our Local Economy” on June 27, 2008. Many of the ideas/suggestions that have been identified will be discussed and a “plan of action” will be developed.

 

 

Workplace “Boot Camp”

The Workforce Connection in partnership with Siskiyou County Human Services has developed a workshop to assist CalWORKS clients with the basic fundamentals of how to find and keep a job, as well as life skills preparation.

The three week program which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every day consists of various areas of instruction. The courses are facilitated by blended staff and topics include the following:

Other activities include a panel presentation of local business on work expectations, representatives from local banks to assist with checking account information/ balancing checkbooks, and Consumer Credit Counseling will speak on budgeting and managing your money.

Upon graduation from the “Boot Camp” there will be an opportunity for the “graduates” to meet local businesses through a job fair hosted by the Workforce Connection.

 

Training for the Hospitality Industry and Employees

Kimber Rickey, Assistant project Director for Shasta College Economic and Workforce Development , contacted STEP, Inc., staff to discuss training opportunities for Siskiyou County businesses. Shasta College applied for and received a grant to provide “Hospitality” training to businesses in Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity counties.

The partnership that is sponsoring the trainings include: Shasta College, Workforce Connection, JEDI (Jefferson Economic Development Institute), Siskiyou County Economic Development Council, California Small Business Development Center and College of the Siskiyous.

After several meetings to discuss exactly what particular kind of training is needed in Siskiyou County the group decided on three specific areas.

Wine & Food Service Education – This program is designed to teach participants the applied approach to match wine and food using flavors, textures, and components present in food and wine as complementing strategies. Wine and food pairing concepts are discussed with wine education and sampling with foods. Emphasis on menu planning, preparation of foods, cooking methods, and testing wines with food. Must be 21 years old.

Safety and Sanitation – This course examines the basic principles of hygiene and sanitation and the application of these principles to food service operations. Includes safety elements in food service planning; description of maintenance and operation of the appropriate food service equipment, and OSHA regulations. Emphasis will be placed on the supervisors’ responsibilities in maintaining high sanitation and safety standards.

Hospitality Marketing – Businesses will learn the three ways to grow your business through creative marketing strategies. Traditional marketing has become less effective in today’s economy; small businesses must be bolder and more innovative. This workshop will focus on how to market your business into a win-win scenario by Promoting, Tracking, Networking, and Collaborating.

The classes have already begun and the attendance has been greater than expected. The remaining class schedule is as follows:

Hospitality Marketing - Thursday, April 10th from 4pm-6pm at Pacific West Foodworks in Yreka
Safety and Sanitation - Tuesday, April 15th from 4pm-6pm at Pacific West Foodworks in Yreka