Employers everywhere are discovering a new type of employee. They create your future workforce, lift your community, and help grow your business. We call them an apprentice. Ardagh is a huge supporter of apprenticeship programs we see it as the bridge between the new team member and the skills one must have to remain competitive in this highly competitive world. I will talk about how to set up a program, the assistance one can receive and benefits that the entire team gains by implementing an active apprenticeship program. I will focus on the impact that apprenticeship program can make in recruitment, in upskilling and how it is not an end to itself but the first stepping stone in achieving excellence in a company.

Attendees will learn:

• Getting started in developing an apprenticeship program.
• Related Instruction and Work Process support
• The importance of mentorship
• The criticality of team support.

POLYWOOD was deemed an essential manufacturer and expanded operations in Roxboro NC during the peak of COVID. We continued to work with PCC during this process to deliver training to our employees through virtual methods. We would like to share our success in partnering with PCC and how we have weathered and expanded during COVID.

Attendees will learn about:

• Expanding business and Operations during COVID
• Continued to Deliver Training during COVID
• Business growth due to COVID impact to consumers
• Leveraging Remote workers during COVID

Parker Offshore builds premium offshore and inshore fishing boats in Beaufort, NC. As a subsidiary of Correct Craft, Parker delivers a lifetime of enjoyment and rugged fish-ability focusing on strength, simplicity, and seaworthiness. The company has built a reputation for excellence in workforce development through its founding culture pyramid – People, Performance, and Philanthropy. The pyramid reflects all that is important to the company and is the basis for their philosophy of “Making Life Better.” The company strives to achieve their mission to make life better for all they come in contact with – customers, employees and their families, dealers, vendors, strategic partners and people around the world they may only meet once. Parker does this by investing in their employees by providing a positive work culture to produce great products where performance and philanthropy are a part of everyday life. In turn, the employees have embraced the culture by wanting to be a part of a higher mission. The company prioritizes cultivating internal workforce development opportunities coupled with those offered by the local community college’s customized training program to build a strong team of dedicated, talented employees.

From this presentation attendees will hear about:

• The opportunities afforded to Parker employees by Correct Craft’s internal training program coupled with customized training classes offered by Carteret Community College.
• Parker’s philosophy of investing in their employees and how that mission has been instrumental in securing them a position as a top performer in the world of sportfishing boat manufacturers.
• The culture of philanthropy which has resulted in a positive work environment with dedicated employees and success in making the local community and the world a better place.

The rise in employer-sponsored health plan premiums and deductibles have significantly outpaced middle-income Americans’ wage growth over the past 15 years. Primarily because the financial incentives built into our healthcare financing system is working as designed, which benefits large insurance carriers and hospital systems, but rarely employers or patients. When you create a health plan where incentives are aligned with employers and patients, employees access care through high-value health care providers, outcomes improve, and costs are reduced. To create the proper alignment of incentives requires working with independent, transparent partners, which further reduces waste, bureaucracy, and cost.

So much of the healthcare industry is shrouded in secrecy with opaque systems. Has your insurance broker ever said, “the carrier proposed a 17% renewal, but we negotiated it down to 9%?” We have got to stop thinking that a less-bad renewal is acceptable. It’s time to take back control of your health care spending.

Attendees will learn:

• Learn how health plan incentives are misaligned in favor of insurance carriers and large hospital systems
• Learn how properly aligned incentives can reduce cost and improve health outcomes
• Explore pharmacy supply chain management techniques that reduce waste, bureaucracy, and cost
• Learn the Best Practices of a high-performance health plan – one that reduces employer and employee cost when high-value care is delivered

Nutrien produces and distributes over 26 million tons of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products for agricultural, industrial and feed customers worldwide. Formerly PotashCorp Aurora, Nutrien is the largest employer in Beaufort County, NC with over 800 full-time permanent employees. Ray McKeithan, the Aurora, NC facility’s Manager of Government and Public Affairs, will touch on how the company has utilized state-run programs like the Apprenticeship Program, Customized Training Program, and the Career Readiness Certification to improve their employee retention rate to over 90%.

We will cover:

• Benefits of NC Apprenticeship.
• Benefits of CRC and Pre-Hire Testing.
• Benefits of Customized Training Program.
• How all of these programs work together.