The leader of an organization that is committed to bringing economic development to the Mississippi Delta and surrounding areas believes he has a plan to get more people working.
Chris Caldwell, chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, said there is “a huge glut” of technical and skilled jobs across the country, as many as six million. However, the problem is that employers are having a hard time filling those jobs.
He believes this is where a partnership between educators, such as Coahoma Community College, and the business community can pay off. Those communities that demonstrate a cohesive relationship between business, community and municipal governments are seeing advancements, Caldwell said during a speech to members of the Clarksdale Rotary Club on Tuesday, May 8.
“We’re trying to create an atmosphere of more jobs and better-paying jobs,” he said. “Our goal is to get kids into great-paying jobs.”
The Delta Regional Authority is currently working on creating a registered apprenticeship program with the Department of Labor and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The program, which is in a 90-day planning period, has gotten support from both the White House and members of Congress as the program has been included in the current fiscal year budget.
Once approved, Caldwell said the apprenticeship accreditation will allow training programs at community colleges and trade schools to have the registered apprenticeship seal and “open up a lot more opportunities for them.”
Caldwell said there has been in the past a negative stigma associated with skilled-labor positions such as plumbers, electricians, welders, truck drivers, HVAC specialists, heavy equipment operators and utility linemen that has resulted in a shortage of available employees.
“There is a huge shortage of available, qualified bodies,” Caldwell said.
“We are so blessed here with the (Mississippi) river and the amount of goods and services that come up the river. And that requires infrastructure. And infrastructure requires those people, men and women, that can build, wire, weld, drive.”
Steve Reed, who is employed by Clarksdale Public Utilities, echoed Caldwell’s thoughts. He said CPU is “desperately trying to find” linemen and electricians.
And Caldwell believes the first step is to educate people about the availability of good-paying jobs.
“There is living off what you make, and there’s making a living,” he said. “We’re talking about the kind of money that will allow people to offer their kids things they never had. Opportunities. Access to education.”
Caldwell said his goal is to “take a very blunt chainsaw to generational poverty.”
“We need to let these kids see the opportunities that are there. We are talking a career, not just a job,” Caldwell said.
What has the DRA done here?
Listed are some of the projects the Delta Regional Authority has assisted with in Clarksdale and Coahoma County over the years.
- Funded $150,000 to use towards an expansion at Standard Industrial in Clarksdale.
- Funded $150,000 to the Delta Blues Museum.
- Assisted with funding and construction of the First Street bridge in Clarksdale.
- Helped make improvements to Clarksdale’s wastewater system.
