Local economic innovation key to success says Dept. of Commerce director

MOSES LAKE — Mike Fong, director of the Washington Department of Commerce, said economic innovation starts locally.

“We want to strengthen communities and help communities build their own capacity and potential,” Fong said while he was in Moses Lake on Monday. “And we don’t want to dictate that. We really want to help that vision become reality. And that’s a local vision.”

Fong was in Moses Lake to learn about economic and business development in Grant County, talking to Port of Moses Lake and Big Bend Community College officials, touring businesses and BBCC’s Workforce Education Services facility.

Big Bend President Sara Thompson Tweedy said about 24.8% of adults more than 25 years of age in the BBCC service area don’t have a high school diploma. About 59% of adults in the service area don’t pursue secondary education or training.

“And yet we have an increasing demand for skilled workers,” she said. “We see the gap we are stepping into is, how do we move individuals through an educational pipeline into our workforce programs.”

That involves more than the traditional post-secondary courses, Tweedy said. Big Bend provides classes for adults who want to improve their English language skills or pursue a high school diploma. From there students can get workforce training and certification, an associate’s degree or, in the case of a program started in 2021, a bachelor’s degree in applied management, she said.

Bryce Humpherys, BBCC vice president of learning and student success, said the college is working with local companies to provide the training they need.

“We have employers knocking on our doors from across the economic spectrum — manufacturing, healthcare, whatever - needing skilled workers. And there are more needs than there are people to meet those needs,” Humpherys said.

There are, however, a lot of potential workers that could fill jobs with the proper training, he said. College officials are working with school districts throughout Grant and Adams counties to provide classes and training opportunities in those communities. One of BBCC’s initiatives is a program that would create a testing facility for next-generation batteries, called a tech hub.

Big Bend has applied for federal funding for the project, in collaboration with the CleanTech Alliance and the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington, Humpherys said. Some local companies have also signed on, including Group14, Sila Nanotechnologies and REC Silicon. Part of the workforce development piece will be the establishment of learning centers in Mattawa, Quincy and Othello.

Fong said he visited a similar testing facility on the west side, and its director highlighted the ability to offer accessible facilities to possible customers in a timely manner.

“Is that the same concept here?” he asked.

“We would use that exact model,” Humpherys said, “and look at other ways to experiment.”

Fong also toured the WES building, talking with instructor Gina Cutts and looking at programs housed in the facility, which include auto mechanics, welding and electrical systems.

Innovation is local, and so is workforce development, Fong said.

“You want to create opportunities, you want to get people in those jobs and skills. So I think what we’ve seen today here at Big Bend, talking to industry folks, trying to align the population with jobs, skills, training, I think that’s what you’re trying to do,” he said.

The job of the Department of Commerce is to support those local initiatives, he said.

“We’re in the business of investing in the state’s most important asset, its people,” he said.

“Now, we obviously have our broad interests, we want to grow jobs, we want strong safety net services across the state to take care of folks, but at the end of the day, (it’s) the local ecosystem, the local industry footprint. We really want folks at the local level to drive that vision, and we’re here to support that,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.