Efforts continue behind the scenes to improve workforce services in the region.

The latest effort is discussion of a contract with a national consultant to get all the federally required public entities and partners on the same page when it comes to delivery of services. Under federal law there are more than a baker’s dozen organizations that are supposed to be involved in the process to help residents in the region obtain training and eventually interview for a job.

The discussions locally revolve around the expertise of Lori Strumpf, owner of Strumpf Associates in Washington, D.C., who could be hired later this month.

Strumpf has worked the past 34 years teaching organizations how to become customer-focused and achieve high performance, according to her Linked-In page profile.

“She will work with the required partners in addition to area non-profits,” Ron Bunch, president and chief executive officer of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday. Bunch sits on the board of the non-profit South Central Kentucky Works Inc., which could in the next several weeks hire Strumpf to facilitate the understandings. The issue has yet to come before the non-profit board, he said. The money to finance her contract comes from funds provided to South Central Kentucky Works Inc. by Warren County and the city of Bowling Green.

Both entities took dues money they were paying the Barren River Area Development District and shifted that money to SCKW Inc. That money amounted to about $60,000. Bunch said the local non-profit will have sufficient financial resources to hire the consultant for a 12-month contract estimated to cost $70,000 to $80,000.

Bunch said it was important to understand that the idea is to convene all partners, not just the federally required partners.

“Can you imagine how powerful the effort would be with everyone at the table?” Bunch asked. “This would increase our capacity to get things done.”

Local officials and business leaders are staring at about 13,000 open jobs in the 10-county region and 55,000 open jobs within a 50-mile radius of the 10-county region — an area stretching from Elizabethtown to Nashville. It is estimated that about 27,000 of the 55,000 jobs are in the Nashville area alone. 

During a recent wide-ranging discussion among nine of the 10 county judge-executives in the region, the public officials are trying to find ways to tie job applicants to possible jobs within their counties.

Hart County Judge-Executive Terry Martin and Barren County Judge-Executive Micheal Hale both want solutions, and fast. Martin said one issue is getting the services out to his people in Hart County so that they don’t have to drive to Bowling Green.

“You would be surprised the number of people who drove from Bowling Green to Glasgow for service,” Hale said.

Hale said he was pleased with the performance of the Glasgow office since the direct-service provider ResCare Workforce Services took over from BRADD.

Kentucky Career Centers exist in both Bowling Green and Glasgow and although the state Office of Employment Training is pulling personnel in the unemployment insurance function beginning mid-month, there are still other entities ready to serve customers in Glasgow at the Kentucky Career Center office there.

Metcalfe County Judge-Executive Greg Wilson said one of the issues is the differential between what people can receive monetarily on public assistance and what jobs pay hourly and what benefits that they provide.

“People who don’t need it can get everything and people who need it can’t get it,” Wilson said.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon suggested establishing certified apprenticeships in the region – there’s only two now – could help. The state Department of Labor currently is focusing on establishing the apprenticeships throughout the commonwealth.

As the Daily News reported in October, Dana Inc., the only company authorized by the Kentucky Labor Cabinet to run an apprenticeship program in Barren County, besides the Glasgow Electric Plant Board, is in shutdown mode. The state-authorized apprenticeship program could move to SpanTech LLC.

Bud Layne, chief executive officer of SpanTech, a Glasgow company that manufactures conveyor systems, was recently appointed to the regional workforce board and was expected to explore a state apprenticeship program at his company.

“These apprenticeship programs lead to professions that pay very well,” Layne said at the time.

In an apprenticeship program, a company hires a worker who learns the trade as they work and eventually masters the necessary skills, he said.

The hiring of a consultant could spur and consolidate efforts to bring world-class workforce services to the 10-county region.

The D.C. consultant, who if employed, would only be working through the non-profit arm of the chamber, not for the South Central Workforce Development Board. The workforce board won’t be involved in the consolidation process but will benefit from the streamlining to put everyone at the same table.

“We want to develop a new career center that will serve the 10-county region,” Buchanon said. 

— Also contributing to this story was reporter Jackson French.

— Follow business reporter Charles A. Mason on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.