The Talent and Economic Development department, which Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder first announced in December, launched today. Snyder said the department will help the state lead in talent development, a priority of his.
“This is great to watch the talent and economic development department really get started. I think it’s an outstanding move in terms of bringing resources together,” Snyder said.
Steve Arwood, currently head of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, will also lead the new TED department. It encompasses agencies including the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and a new agency, the Talent Investment Agency, headed by Stephanie Comai.
Arwood said he, Comai, and MSHDA Director Wayne Workman would essentially be acting as a management committee for the new department.
“Part of what we’re going to strive for throughout all the agencies is a strict customer focus,” Arwood said.
Comai has already been talking with employers about how to meet talent needs. She will be focusing on multiple areas, including re-training adult workers.
“Every business we talk to in this state is struggling to find the right skill set, the right skilled workers,” Comai said.
Workman said he’d had positive experiences in collaborating with the other agencies on particular projects, and now they’d be collaborating all the time.
“I think this new department is going to provide the management structure and the synergies that we’re going to need going forward,” Workman said.
Asked if the new department would grow government or add staff, Snyder said his goal was to make government more efficient.
“When you do a reorganization you move a number of people around but over time the goal here is to say how do we get more people doing less administrative stuff, more front line things? And how do we continue to give great service to our customers, the citizens of Michigan, who are both the people looking for those employment opportunities and the employers trying to hire those folks,” Snyder said.
Source: MEDC