2.9.23 – Center SquareÂ
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders created a new “Workforce Cabinet” to study workforce development and career education.
Sanders announced Thursday that Mike Rogers would helm the cabinet. He’s a former agriculture and industrial maintenance teacher and is currently the senior director of maintenance and refrigeration for Tyson Foods.
“It’s time for our state to build a strong pipeline of skilled, qualified workers,” Sanders said in a news release. “Mike’s expertise will be crucial to getting that done. He has been on the ground floor of companies across our state, training young workers and developing technical education programs, making him the clear choice to lead our whole-of-government approach to this issue.”
Rogers is a member of the Arkansas Workforce Education Council, according to a biography provided by Sanders’ office.
The Workforce Cabinet will consist of representatives from the departments of commerce, corrections, education, human services, veterans affairs and labor and licensing, according to an executive order issued by Sanders on Thursday.
The cabinet will review state and federal workforce programs and present its recommendations to the governor on Oct. 1.
“Currently, there are six state agencies in Arkansas state government that provide or coordinate career and technical education and workforce development,” Sanders said in her executive order. “It is the policy of this Administration to create a single entity to coordinate and to assist in career and technical education, which in turn, will ensure that young adults who are entering the workforce are prepared for high-wage, high-growth careers.”