Attended inaugural meeting to discuss improving the US workforce

St. Charles, IL - Ron Bullock, Chairman of Bison Gear and Engineering, has joined the National Workforce Solutions Advisory Board as a founding member. Beginning on January 23, Mr. Bullock attended the boards' inaugural meeting in Washington to discuss solutions for economic growth and competitiveness. Already an active participant in fostering progressive growth, education and training in the manufacturing workforce, Mr. Bullock is taking another step in ensuring the US remains a competitive player in the 21st century.

Sponsored by ACT, Inc., the National Workforce Solutions Advisory Board is charged with leading a national effort to build a common framework for workforce development that

links education and workforce development, aligns workforce development with industry needs, and matches individual skills with employer requirements. Ron will be responsible for working with other board members to build partnerships for community-based workforce development solutions where:

Business and industry can identify the foundational skills they need for a productive workforce and can easily communicate their needs;
Individuals understand what skills are required by employers and what they need to do to prepare themselves for success;
Policy makers can consistently measure the skills gap at the national, state and local levels;
Educators have the tools to close the skills gap, and their tools are integrated into career pathways with stackable industry-recognized credentials; and
Economic developers have an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce.

Mr. Bullock's career has encompassed numerous leadership positions - in Bison and several crucial manufacturing trade organizations. His insight and creative ideas has led to numerous developments in power transmission and he has been very involved in innovative workforce solutions to fill the talent pipeline and keep American Manufacturing globally competitive, He currently serves as Vice Chair of the NAM Manufacturing Institute, serves on Illinois' P-20 Council and chairs the IMA Education Foundation. Going forward, Ron hopes that his participation in this venture will lead to a renewed interest in American manufacturing. He comments; "There are great careers available in manufacturing and the boomer train is leaving the station. We need a more robust pipeline to fill our needs, and ACT's Certified Work Ready Communities program is a wonderful grass roots solution."

The Board's inaugural chairman is the Honorable Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011, whose vision to link education and workforce development together at the state and community level led to the creation of Georgia Work Ready, which included Georgia's innovative Certified Work Ready Communities model. As chairman, Governor Perdue will moderate a series of discussions and presentations which will focus on the question: How do we take the national need for a common platform and maximize the use of the Certified Work Ready Communities initiative to address this challenge?

Additional board members include:

Alex Belous

Education and Health Strategy Manager, Cisco

Dr. Joseph May, Chancellor

Louisiana Technical College System

Lesa J. Francis

CEO, President and Director, Staffmark

Cheryl Oldham

Vice President, Institute for a Competitive Workforce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Mike Garrett

Retired CEO, Georgia Power

Hartley Powell

National Practice Leader for Site Selection, KPMG

Jim Gibbons

CEO, Goodwill Industries International, Inc.

Martin L. Scaglione

President, Workforce Development Division, ACT

Major General Ronald L. Johnson (retired)

Senior Vice President, Referee Operations, NBA

Tom Snyder

President, Ivy Tech Community College

Susan S. Lanigan

Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Dollar General

Neal Wade

Senior Vice President of Economic Development, The St. Joe Company

About ACT

Founded in 1959, ACT is a not-for-profit public trust headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, and dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. ACT provides a broad array of assessment, research, information and program management solutions in the areas of education and workforce development. Each year, ACT serves millions of people - nationally and internationally - in middle and high schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses and government agencies.