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Businesses, Students, and Communities Benefit Through GO-CAPS

Mike Smith
/
KSMU-FM

KSMU Producer Mike Smith:  “Earlier today, on the first installment of this week’s KSMU Sense of Community Series, we met David Clark, on the job at SRC Automotive.  David was hired by SRC 2 weeks after graduating from Ozark High School, and after completing 7 months of work force and professional development training with The Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies, or GO-CAPS.”

SRC Employee David Clark:  “I see a great future with this company. SRC has a great tuition reimbursement program.  For example, I want to learn how to weld.  I’m going to take some classes at OTC.”

Mike Smith:  “In August, 2015, at the start of his senior year, David Clark learned about an enrollment opportunity for juniors and seniors that was so new, it hadn’t been added to the curriculum.”

David Clark:  “They started pitching it to some of the classrooms.  One of my counselors came in and said this is what’s going on.  It sounded really interesting to me.”

Mike Smith:  “The class, David Clark learned, is a cooperative effort with area school districts, businesses, colleges and universities, and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, which manages the program. Through GO-CAPS, students are offered professional development training, and local, on the job work experiences in 4 areas of interest:  Business and Economic Development; Medicine and Health Care; Technology Solutions; and Engineering and Manufacturing.”

David Clark:  “So I filled out an application and I got in.  There were only 2 people from Ozark that went to Engineering and Manufacturing.”   

SRC Automotive HR Director Travis Weathermon:  “David came on board a couple weeks after he graduated.  He’s been a fantastic employee.  David first came to us with an internship, or Day Apprentice 

Credit Mike Smith / KSMU-FM
/
KSMU-FM
Travis Weathermon is HR Manager, at SRC Automotive

role.  He spent 2 days inside our facility here working with one of our trainers.  That trainer took him through the entire process and building, showing David what we do on a daily basis, but he was also evaluating David and his skill set.  He came back with raving reviews for David and the skills he gained from the GO-CAPS program, that could really impact the business today. So it was a no-brainer to offer him a position shortly after he graduated high school.”

SRC’s Krisi Shell:  “As we look at building relationships with universities and schools, and really attracting talent, not only for our current work force needs but our future work force needs, GO-CAPS ties in nicely with those efforts.”

Mike Smith:  ‘Krisi Shell is Organizational Development Manager with SRC Holdings, and serves as SRC’s main contact and coordinator with the Engineering and Manufacturing strand of GO-CAPS.”

Krisi Shell:  “We are focused on engineering and manufacturing, but we have the pleasure of hosting the Technology Solutions strand this year as well.  We are very proud of being a partner in this program. This is something SRC has been doing for many years, in connecting with students we believe will be our future work force.  Weather its engineering or accounting,

Credit Krisi Shell / SRC Holdings
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SRC Holdings
Krisi Shell is Organizational Development Manager at SRC, and Also Serves as SRC's Main Contact and Coordinator With GO-CAPS

supply chain, human resources, production, operation, or supervision, with all those varied and important functions within our company, we need a talent pipeline coming up through the ranks.  This program, gives us a hands on opportunity to generate awareness with students, and helps us communicate, you know, what skills we need these individuals to have when they come into the job.”

Sgf Chamber of Commerce VP, Lindsay Haymes.:  We really want students to understand what the real world looks like, and understand what they’re going to have to do to to accomplish their goals from a career perspective.”

Mike Smith:  Lindsay Haymes is Vice President for Workforce Development at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.  The SGF Chamber of Commerce manages Go-CAPS, and Haymes is also Executive director of the program.”

Lindsay Haymes:  “This is a rigorous program, we have high expectations for them.  The way they shake business partners hands, the way address them; the way they compose E-mails, what their voice mail sounds 

Credit Lindsay Haymes / Springfield Area Chamber of Commertce
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Springfield Area Chamber of Commertce
Lindsay Haymes is Vice President for Workforce Development, at the SGF Area Chamber of Commerce, and GO-CAPS Executive Director

like.  It’s not for the faint of heart because there’s a lot of expectations, and there are a lot of opportunities though with those expectations, to open up worlds that can’t be opened up in the home high school.  We want business and education to be partners.  That’s our main goal, to connect business and education together at a greater level and in more meaningful ways so student can have those experiences.  They can understand what their options are in SW Missouri for working and starting careers here, and how they need to accomplish that.  What is awesome about this program, is it’s a win for everyone.”

Mike Smith:  “And with that, SRC’s Krisi Shell is in full agreement.”

Krisi Shell:  “SRC had 36 Go-Caps students in the Engineering and Manufacturing strand, last year.  3 of those students came to work for us after completion of the program.  That’s a return!”

Mike Smith's career at KSMU began in 1980 as a student announcer when the former Navy Submariner attended (then) SMSU with help from the GI Bill. In 1982 Smith became a full time member of the KSMU family as "Chief Announcer", responsible for the acquisition, training and scheduling of the student announcing staff. It was also in 1982 when Smith first produced "Seldom Heard Music" a broadcast of Bluegrass which is still heard on KSMU and ksmu.org every Saturday night at 7CT.