By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Fort Hays State University has created a new position to engage business leaders in Kansas and build relationships that lead to professional opportunities for students.
Ben Schears, the former president of Fort Hays Tech | Northwest in Goodland, was selected to serve as the Vice President for Economic and Workforce Development at FHSU in Hays.
FHSU President Tisa Mason said the position aligns with the university's strategic affiliation initiative with Fort Hays Tech | Northwest and Fort Hays Tech | Northcentral to drive economic and workforce development across the state.
Funding from the Kansas Legislature made the position possible.
"Ben was the ideal candidate because of his high energy, strategic vision and proven ability to unite stakeholders, particularly those in the community, toward common goals," Mason said.
Schears has been traveling across western Kansas since he started the job in August, meeting with current and potential partners.
He's also worked closely with economic and workforce development partners, including FHSU's affiliated tech colleges, Grow Hays and the Kansas Department of Commerce to identify opportunities.
Grow Hays reached out to Schears when Agiliti, the medical equipment manufacturer, was deciding whether to expand its operations in Hays or go elsewhere.
"One of the concerns Agiliti had, which is a fair one because we all have it, is workforce. How do we access, secure and keep talent in the area?" Schears said.
"We bring to the table a kind of concierge support to try to figure out, within the tech colleges and the university, how do we make those connections and help the employer stay?
"We were super thrilled when they decided to stay here in Ellis County and are on the path to grow," Schears said.
The medical technology firm was courted by the Research Triangle Park in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, to relocate.
Schears has also been working with an overseas manufacturing business considering bringing jobs to several U.S. locations.
He recently met with the Larned State Correctional Facility, which has a staffing shortage, particularly nurses.
A trip to southwest Kansas included visits with local economic development officers and the community colleges in Garden City and Dodge City.
"The folks in Dodge City do a very good job of working with our Professional and Continuing Education Department, our PCE program, in order to deliver some core training that they need in southwest Kansas," Schears said.
"One good example of that is Excel for their local businesses. We're looking to see what more we can do of that kind of thing," he said.
Schears said he's been figuring out where southwest Kansas needs Fort Hays State University and its tech schools to plug in and engage and what resources FHSU can bring to bear.
"We have really talented people who are working in our small businesses who, with a class or two, a training or two, can level up and move up. QuickBooks is another example of that," he said.
Schears said Fort Hays State has an expanding relationship with the Kansas Bankers Association with the Robbens Banking Institute.
"We have an entry-level, 12-credit-hour banking certificate," he said. "If you're an entry-level teller and thinking one day you'd like to be a loan officer or a bank vice-president, ... this is a leg up, an opportunity, for these really talented folks.
"They can make a bigger impact in their local businesses, and they stay, which is the most important piece."
"Some pretty exciting things down there with doors we can open on our front," Schears said.
He's also met with potential economic partners in Norton and Phillipsburg.
Schears has helped Fort Hays Tech | North Central in Hays and Beloit partner with High Plains Mental Health and expand its workforce in Hays.
He's working with the Center on Rural Innovation, which along with the Patterson Foundation, funded Heartland Rural Innovation. Center on Rural Innovation's work focuses on closing the gap in technology-focused jobs in urban and rural settings in America.
"I spend about 80% of my time just listening," Schears said, " ... and then you get into the diagnosing stage, and how do we take what we have and plug it into the narrative and the solution.
"We can't be the be-all, end-all, but where we can, we will be."