Kim Adkins Named to Executive Director Workforce Investment Board
June 4, 2007
Kim Adkins, new executive director of the West Piedmont Workforce Investment Board. Monday, June 4, 2007----By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer--Source: Martinsville Bulletin, June 4, 2007 page 1
Adkins is ready for the new challenge
Kim Adkins wants to make the West Piedmont Workforce Investment Board (WIB) more visible in the business community.
“When anyone has questions about work force development,� she said, “the experts (who can answer those questions) are the WIB.�
Adkins said, though, that there seems to have been “a little bit of a disconnect� between the WIB and the business community. Therefore, she plans to raise awareness of the WIB and how it strengthens businesses, she said.
Adkins becomes the WIB’s executive director today after more than seven years as head of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce. She originally was the chamber’s executive vice president, but several years ago a reorganization resulted in her receiving the title of president.
The chamber and the WIB are alike in that each strives to help businesses be successful. But they accomplish that goal differently. The chamber serves as an advocate for the business community, particularly its member businesses, in local affairs. The WIB strives to strengthen the area’s work force, which in turn helps businesses be successful.
Employers “have jobs that need to be filled, and they want them filled now� with skilled workers, said Adkins.
The WIB is a nonprofit organization that oversees local funding allocations from the U.S. Department of Labor for work force development programs.
