(WisBusiness) WED News Summary — 22 Apr. 2009

From WisBusiness.com …

— Within five years, Janesville should be able to recoup the 3,500-plus auto and auto-related jobs it has lost with the closure of the GM plant and numerous suppliers, John Beckord, president of Forward Janesville said Tuesday.

Speaking to a board meeting of the Wisconsin Technology Council, Beckord said the loss of GM was a major blow to the city. Nearly all of its 100-plus remaining workers will be laid off Thursday when they finish contract work on Isuzu trucks.

But Beckord said the city’s economy had diversified over the past decade and was in a much better position than Kenosha when the Chrysler plant shut down 20 years ago and laid off 5,000 workers.

In the meantime, Blackhawk Technical College President Eric Larson said enrollment at his campus between Janesville and Beloit has surged in recent months because of the recession and Rock County layoffs at a variety of businesses.

“We thought GM would never close,” he said. “But after 100 years, it did. And in two days, the last work on Isuzu trucks will end.”

“I have to be careful how I say this,” he said. “But when the economy is bad, my business is booming.”

To meet the 22 percent increase in students, he said he has had to hire eight new faculty members, add 88 new sessions and expand the parking lot.

See more from Beckord and Larson: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=156191

— The Wisconsin Technology Council has recommended that state business leaders, educators and policy leaders embrace targeted efforts to advance science, technology, engineering and math education (STEM).

A report released Tuesday, titled “Educating a Tech-Savvy Workforce in Wisconsin,” caps a series of town hall-style meetings produced by the Tech Council to gather citizen opinions.

The report’s five recommendations: Use student assessments effectively, provide teachers with the training they need, engage businesses in meaningful ways, celebrate successes in a highly visible, public way and make STEM education a statewide public policy priority.

See the press release: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=156114

— The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s annual business expo is set for today at the Madison Marriott West Convention Center in Middleton.

See the schedule and print out a free ticket: http://www.greatermadisonchamber.com/events/annual-business-expo

— Strategies to help manufacturers survive the global recession and thrive once the recovery begins are the focus of this year’s Manufacturing Matters! Conference, presented by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

The conference will be held Tuesday, May 19, at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee.

Conference keynote speakers are: Tim Sanders, former chief solutions officer at Yahoo! and author of “Saving The World At Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference” and Steven S. Little, business growth expert and author of “The Milkshake Moment and “Duck and (re)Cover: The Embattled Business Owner’s Guide to Survival and Growth,” which is coming out in June.

See more information: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=156126

****************************************
THANKS TO OUR WISBUSINESS SPONSORS

• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Madison Gas & Electric
• University Research Park
• Wisconsin Technology Council

****************************************