By Mark Bashore, WKAR
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-928124.mp3
LANSING, MI –
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Community leaders from around Michigan are reviewing the findings of a new economic growth study. WKAR's Mark Bashore has more.
AUDIO:
The Michigan Prosperity Initiative is trying to identify ways to better leverage regional assets for economic growth. A gathering Thursday at the Lansing Center reviewed the results of almost 100 economic strategy sessions with community leaders across the state. Charles Ballard is a Michigan State University economist. He says a community's educational assets are a key predictor of economic growth, often for unemployed workers:
"As part of the retraining, the community colleges play an incredibly important role and that's why Lansing's community college, I think, is one of the most important drivers of the economic future for mid-Michigan," he says.
Ballard says that by galvanizing ways to move Michigan forward, the initiative could improve the state's outlook on the future. To drive home that point, he closed his address by leading participants in song.
reWorking Michigan
For more on job creation and workforce evolution in Michigan, visit WKAR.org/reworkingmichigan