ROGERS — Arkansas topped the list of states primed for expansion of defense industries that was shown at a conference in Australia he attended recently, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack said at Thursday’s meeting of the Arkansas Aerospace and Defense Alliance.
“I just got back from a trip to Australia and New Zealand” to confer with allies about shared defense concerns and needs, Womack, R-Ark., said in his remarks at the group’s summit at the Rogers Convention Center. One of the companies at those meetings presented a list “of states willing to work with them, and I was proud to see Arkansas at the top of that list.”
Womack; U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.; and Gov. Sarah Sanders all spoke at Thursday’s event, with Sanders as the keynote speaker at 1 p.m. At least 250 representatives from defense industries in Arkansas attended the conference, according to Chad Causey, executive director of the alliance. Defense industry representatives from as far away as Australia also attended, he said.
The business-friendly environment of the state and its affinity for defense-related companies will grow as F-35 training begins at Ebbing Air Force base in Fort Smith, both Boozman and Womack told the crowd in their remarks. Training flights are due to begin next month with Polish pilots, Womack said.
Sanders puts a priority on recruiting aerospace industry because the economic growth benefits have shown to build upon each other, she said in her remarks.
“The reason is to create momentum,” she said. “When one of your industries move in, there’s another and another and another” coming to the state.
Alliance President Mark Bremer of Dassault Falcon Jet praised the state’s efforts in helping develop the needed workforce for their industries along with other business-friendly policies. He said in an interview both state and local leaders in the various communities hosting defense industries in Arkansas are supportive. So is the industry itself, he said. The more than 200 defense-related companies in the state compete for the same workers, but they work together well on training and workforce education standards vital to all of them, he said.
Industry, state and local leaders have worked on workforce training for 20 years, but it really seems like it’s coming together now, Bremer said.
Workforce development takes a coordinated approach between industry, students, educational institutions and state and local leaders, Bremer said. Industry needs to tell schools exactly what skills are needed and how to reach proficiency in those skills, for instance. This requires a closer working relationship between government, education and private industry than in the past, he said.
Sanders made the same points in a later interview.
“We’ve been breaking down the silos” on workforce training, she said, bringing in all the entities needed into a team. One reform in particular was to create a chief workforce officer’s position so someone working for the state who’s from private industry wakes up every day working on this, she said.
Aspects of her LEARNS Act education reform, passed in 2023, creates grants for worker education in high schools and allows those students to get certifications for in-demand skills, Sanders said.
One area still needing improvement is better pay for highly skilled instructors in technical schools, Bremer said.
“We in the industry tend to steal them,” he said.
Workforce training is not just a boon for industry, Bremer said.
“We have a young man who was working on a farm for $15 go through an apprentice program with us,” Bremer said. “Now he’s installing upholstery and making $20 an hour. That’s life-changing.”
Attendees visit boothes, Thursday, August 22, 2024 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Rep. Womack, Sen. Boozman and Gov. Sanders spoke at the Mid-American Aerospace + Defense Summit. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery…(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Charlie Kaijo 
Gov. Sanders visits with attendees, Thursday, August 22, 2024 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Rep. Womack, Sen. Boozman and Gov. Sanders spoke at the Mid-American Aerospace + Defense Summit. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery…(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Charlie Kaijo 
Gov. Sanders visits with attendees, Thursday, August 22, 2024 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Rep. Womack, Sen. Boozman and Gov. Sanders spoke at the Mid-American Aerospace + Defense Summit. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery…(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Charlie Kaijo 
Co-Ceo of Power Technology William Burgess shows off a device that senses and identifies different gasses, Thursday, August 22, 2024 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Rep. Womack, Sen. Boozman and Gov. Sanders spoke at the Mid-American Aerospace + Defense Summit. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery…(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Charlie Kaijo 
Gov. Sanders visits with attendees, Thursday, August 22, 2024 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Rep. Womack, Sen. Boozman and Gov. Sanders spoke at the Mid-American Aerospace + Defense Summit. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery…(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Charlie Kaijo
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Publish date : 2024-08-22 05:20:00
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