LAST WEEK WAS National Apprenticeship Week. Each year in November the Department of Labor raises the awareness of the value of Registered Apprenticeship as a valuable workforce development alternative. Here in Arkansas, there were more than 30 events statewide—employer forums in a number of industry sectors, apprenticeship signings, cohort kickoffs, daily webinars featuring Day-in-the-Life profiles […]
Director’s Chair: November 2021 Read More »
Every day is a game of Russian roulette Compiled by Crystal Hartman DATA, AS WE at ACDS have noted over and over, is increasingly the basis for sound and strategic business decisions. But data doesn’t have to be the sole province of business; we can draw on it to improve our personal lives as well.
LIFE IN THE NEW MACHINE AGE Read More »
IT SEEMS EERILY appropriate that October has become “Cybersecurity Awareness Month”—especially these days. Everyone is hiding in one way or another. Some hide to make trouble. Others hide to not be harmed. Metaphorically, we’re all wearing masks. The real world with all its dangers—disease, ransomware, identity theft, credit card fraud, and so many others—has become
Director’s Chair: October 2021 Read More »
Christopher Wright, Co-Founder, Sullivan Wright Technologies IRONY OF IRONIES: In celebration of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we sat down with cybersecurity consultant Chris Wright and learned that true cybersecurity awareness is still a bit of an uphill climb for many of our state’s businesses. Apparently, it’s no easy task to install guardrails around human nature. ———————————————
This Month’s Q & A: October 2021 Read More »
Ashley Wardlow, Executive Director, Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit, Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce “IN OUR RAPIDLY changing world, we are all technologists.” That’s the theme line for this fall’s eighth iteration of the NWA Tech Summit, the increasingly high-profile project of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce. We sat down with the Summit’s
This Month’s Q & A: September 2021 Read More »
BY NOW, YOU’RE used to hearing us at ACDS talk about the Registered Apprenticeship Program, which we believe is the most efficient pathway, in terms of time and capital, to take someone with potential and passion, put them through classroom training customized to an employer’s required skills, and set them on the pathway to a
Director’s Chair: September 2021 Read More »
Lonnie Emard,Apprenticeship Director THE BEGINNING OF Fall is always a nostalgic time for me. I grew up in Iowa, and even though my family never farmed, we couldn’t help feeling the whole community’s excitement at harvest time. Fall marked the end of another year’s effort. For an all-too-brief moment, the worry over rainfall, drought, storms,
The Apprenticeship Report: September 2021 Read More »
FROM BEADS TO BITCOIN Why you’re hearing so much about cryptocurrency these days Kathryn CarlisleSenior Managing Director,Blockchain Center of ExcellenceSam M. Walton College of BusinessUniversity of Arkansas THE FIRST THING to know is that anything can be “money.” This is why cryptocurrency is such a fascinating topic, especially in the beginning. Because it’s really a
Guest Column: September 2021 Read More »
THESE ARE DIFFICULT days for interpersonal communication. It’s not just that so many of us aren’t on the same page; increasingly, it seems, we’re not even in the same book. Add to that the slippery reality we’re all living through and it’s a wonder we can communicate at all. Just one month ago I began
Director’s Chair: August 2021 Read More »
MEET AARON LANCASTER Age: 30 Hometown: Bentonville, Arkansas Apprenticeship: WEHCO Media MY BACK STORY I grew up in Bentonville and started getting into computers as a kid. I was actually into 3D modeling and animation for a while as a teenager. As for making my living with computers, I honestly didn’t know. I just knew
Apprenticeship Spotlight: August 2021 Read More »