Aligning Education and Industry: Arkansas Workforce Strategy

Jeff Kavanaugh:

I'm Jeff Kavanaugh, Global Head of the Infosys Knowledge Institute, and we're here at Infosys Foundation USA Crossroads 2025, where leaders across education, technology, and workforce development have come together to shape the future of learning. I'm joined by Mike Rogers, Chief Workforce Officer for the State of Arkansas. Mike leads the governor's workforce cabinet, lining efforts across departments such as commerce, education, human services, and more.

Mike Rogers:

Thanks, Jeff, for having me.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Absolutely. First question, what led you from teaching in the poultry industry to becoming the chief workforce officer in Arkansas?

Mike Rogers:

Well, the short answer would be following the Lord's plan that he had for me, even though I didn't know it at the time.

I grew up working in the poultry industry in the skilled trade side of it when I was going to college. And so when I started teaching agriculture, I found myself teaching what I was doing at night. And I discovered that we're not making these folks anymore. And it gave me a really great chance to kind of take that skill set I'd learned in the 20 years of working in industrial maintenance and refrigeration and share that out with high school students. That combination, lo and behold, what I know 20 years after teaching was kind of a launch pad for me to go to Tyson Foods. That would allow me to scale out and do that for adult learners.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Well, it's interesting because it's almost come full circle because back then was more fashionable to pursue a traditional four-year degree, so-called white-collar jobs and all that, but the pendulum has now swung back. I think people are appreciating a lot more of the hands-on. How has this varied background yourself contributed or shaped your approach to workforce development?

Mike Rogers:

Well, I didn't like the blanks that people were asking me to fill in because I was fascinated with the work of machinery and equipment, but I also wanted to further my education. So I decided to do both. And that wasn't really an option back then. What it did for me, though, was a lot of late nights and early mornings, it gave me the fundamentals and the theory, but then I could transfer that into the application and the relevance. And it really helped me as a learner and a worker kind of build out who I was and what I wanted to do.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

And how has that helped you reach these underserved communities across Arkansas?

Mike Rogers:

Well today is all about meeting people where they are and identifying what their skill sets are, their aptitudes or capabilities, what skills they can demonstrate and then helping them discover their future.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

I'm not sure if people realize how diverse the state of Arkansas is. I had the pleasure of driving around for work many times. Whether it's Pine Bluff, you got Fayetteville, you got of course, Fort Smith, you got the rice fields, you've got along the Mississippi, and of course, Little Rock as well. How have you been able to meet people where they are with these different environments?

Mike Rogers:

I don't want blow our best kept secret of what people stereotypically think Arkansas is, but from the role I have today, it's really about looking at regions and what industries and different types of populations live in those areas. And it's a very unique dichotomy in terms of vast differences in geography, but also in our natural resources, commodities, and the products that we make. All that as it ties into transportation, logistics, and how we deliver our goods.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

You mention delivering your goods. Shout out to JB Hunt and the other folks as well. You’ve done your homework haven’t you? Yeah, again, big fan of the state. I think it's underappreciated. That's even before Scenic 7 and all the driving.

Mike Rogers:

That's right, you can shake your taillights on seven.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Be careful to look at the scenery when you're driving though. I can't wait for autonomous driving because he can enjoy the good scenery and not have to worry about going over the edge. What are the biggest workforce challenges that Arkansas faces and how are you addressing them in ways maybe other states could follow?

Mike Rogers:

You know, I've really looked at other states just trying to figure out how to do it best for Arkansas, but a big part of it is people not knowing what opportunities are there for them and discovering whether it's career awareness or actually the skills they have can transfer from one occupation to another. And just imagining a lot of what could be their emotional quotient and how they go to business and then transfer that into the knowledge and the content is so much easier to transfer than the solid person, the integrity, the work ethic, and the situation where there's all the different parts that make somebody unique to who they are, but then attaching the skill sets. And that's what's really unique about how Arkansas is set up.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

I like that notion of durable skills with that high EQ and emotional quality. That's right. Well, we got those, got this high demand for STEM skills. How is Arkansas building a talent pipeline to meet this need for STEM skills?

Mike Rogers:

The career awareness side of it, navigation and identifying the opportunities that are out there, it's kind of the premise, that's pretty basic. But whether we're looking at steel in Northeast or lithium and bromine extraction in the South, or maybe even the chips and semiconductors in the Northwest, we have aerospace in one part of the state, defense in another, forestry, precision agriculture, all those different aspects. And so developing out each one of those really requires the employers to help forecast their supply chain, what their needs are. Just like they would for sourcing their product and their customers, doing that for their workforce. Being intentional and really identifying who's on, who's in queue in different segments of their life and then how do we take very intentional steps to build out that workforce to meet the needs of those communities.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Have you seen willingness, maybe even some proactivity, with the employers to collaborate and share information with the state?

Mike Rogers:

That's a challenge and always has been, but at the same time you start realizing that the demand is so high that they realized the two best days to plant a tree is either today or ten years ago.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Yeah, even longer back. Steal my line. Yeah. Yeah. That's really good. Do you see, the sense of optimism for the employers there that by working together, how it's helping them as well?

Mike Rogers:

A big part of the shift in thinking is moving from talent acquisition to talent recognition and even internally creating career pathways, internal trainings and resources that they can build out the people that are already there and that works so well on the worker's side of their desires or aspirations with culture and fit and progression and career pathway and pay and responsibility that that kind of shift in thinking of recognizing someone's talent before the technology has been invented or the customer has been born, they can start to realize the resources that are there in their areas.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Speaking of that, can you share an example where you've this come to life?

Mike Rogers:

Yeah, there's so many places it's really hard to pick one. I've really enjoyed seeing companies that are giving their flexible schedules to their team members, associates, and allowing them to kind of navigate different areas whether it's kind of a job shadow or spending different times and realizing the openness to explore within their organizations. One of the things I've also enjoyed was watching a two-year school who is trying to identify on their college transcript not just their the GPA and the courses that were taught and passed with what grade level, now they're badging out some of the EQ side, so those verbal skills you mentioned earlier, they're starting to say, a person that graduates from this school has, and we've seen it, we've embedded our curriculum, we've seen competency, it's been demonstrated, and we're very convinced that this person has the qualities necessary to go to work in your area, so it's kind of the matchmaking part of allowing people to imagine who they are and what they want to become.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

So it's kind of like identifying your size by your waist inseam. You need more than two numbers to describe you as a person. The EQ part, maybe some level of experiences they've had. Speaking of that, I know we didn't talk about it before, what about apprentices, apprentice models? I would think with your background, you value that. How do you push that into the rest of the state?

Mike Rogers:

It's like you've reading my mail, Jeff, because when I was going to college during the day, working at night, I did apprenticeship at night. And this is before it was technically a registered apprenticeship through DOL back in the 90s. And I went through a refrigeration engineer technicians association and hydro-simonium apprenticeship. And it made so much sense because I'm learning on the job, the fundamentals and the theory and it takes it to the next level. Here I was almost 25 years later, was able to start with the first industrial maintenance pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeships in Arkansas. And that was really the part that kind of got me to being able to develop out different menu options for people to take. Whether it's the a la carte, the buffet, or an entree, they could kind of mix and match what was very custom and unique to their situation for their outcomes.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

What's neat is, of course, it's also cautionary, as we race towards adopting technology, not forgetting some of these tried and true that over centuries apprentice was the way skilled laborers, especially before the white collar and the office jobs, is that something that you've seen be popular across Arkansas where they like these apprentice programs as an alternative path?

Mike Rogers:

Apprenticeship has picked up a lot of engagement and historically if I think about it, probably in the oldest model of education, you start realizing that there are traditional and non-traditional apprenticeships. Some apprenticeships, the only way I can get to my vocation is through that path. Others, here's a suitable path that it could pursue as well. But what I really want to comment to that question about is looking at AI and technology as a tool and knowing that there's different advancements from that time in apprenticeship, maybe it was before the wrench was even invented. When they came up with the wrench and they came up with the socket and they came up with all the different aspects to the impact driver to the torque wrench. And AI is just another tool that helps facilitate those means.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Well, what are your top workforce priorities now as you look out for the next year or two, or beyond?

Mike Rogers:

If I had to pick one thing, it's all about removing barriers, moving people from a crisis to a career and identifying whether it's one of the 13 social determinants of health or the different limitations that they have. If I just had this one accommodation, if I just had this one, maybe it's transportation or childcare, elder care, affordable housing, the same thing across every state. How do I start to just peel back the layers so that I can be able to move into more responsibility, more income and then remove those barriers out myself? I don't wanna be in a position where we're doing something for someone, but removing those more like offense and defense type play to allow them to be empowered in their functions.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Get a playbook then.

Mike Rogers:

That's right, the workforce strategy.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

All right. I'm part of the Infosys Knowledge Institute. We're a thought leadership business research outfit. So always interested, how do you use thought leadership to attract support, whether it's facts, research, case studies from the corporate world, from funders, from the people you're trying to serve?

Mike Rogers:

You know, it's a lot of, you've mentioned a plethora of avenues that you can take. And so I start off by saying I pray a lot. And just watching how the different person, position and passion shows up and being able to identify the next level of scaling out resources. So, a lot of work we do might be for either a transition military veteran converting an MOS or AFCS into a SOC code so they can move, transferability of skill, but also second chance reentry. And there's so many different people that have a passion for special populations that it really is that kind of ecosystem of support to scaffold up for each special population.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Last question, obviously there's passion, there's momentum in your state. I just came from Washington, DC a couple days ago, literally six other states like Connecticut and South Carolina and Indiana. How are you communicating with your peers in other states and maybe sharing practices?

Mike Rogers:

Well, I didn't for the first two years because there's a lot to say grace over in Arkansas. I just buried in and tried to figure out who the individuals were that had the right solutions. And what I discovered is instead just a top-down approach, finding the people who are doing the work, meeting the clients, the constituents, and the Arkansans, where they are, and identifying some of their barriers so we can move from a non-value-added work to more of a value-add in relationship. Only recently in the last few months have I started traveling to DC and other places like Indiana today to be able to start to listen and find out what kind of where the gaps and the overlaps of how we're solving some of Arkansas's and America's problems because it's not indicative of one state.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Right, and what is exciting, obviously change brings angst. One piece of exciting news is I think the states are going to have more and more of a say in what's going on in their states. Is that something that you're excited about?

Mike Rogers:

You know, I'm ready for that because the only thing I can manage is what's the controllables that I have access to. And with whether it's a very progressive administration at the state level, all the way out to private philanthropy, business employers, and our community based organizations that come together, trying to manage what we can manage and influence those opportunities. So I really do like the options that we have of maybe it's funding and block grants or things where we can make it very unique and specific to what our user case scenario is in Arkansas.

Jeff Kavanaugh:

Great, well I know you want to get back to the conference and thank you so much and for everyone, as we say at the Knowledge Institute, keep learning and keep sharing.