News and Success Stories

By Ben Hoger, Michigan Works! Southwest When Jacquelyn Murray was asked to explain what Marshall Excelsior Company does, it didn’t take long before she mentioned their partnership with Michigan Works! Southwest, a local agency that has been foundational in helping Marshall Excelsior Company transition and grow through corporate change. As the Director of Human Resources at…

Michigan Works! Southwest extends congratulations to Austin Edwards on his accomplishments as a youth apprentices and Hi-Tech Electric Company for their dedication to preparing, empowering, and transforming the local workforce through advancing information technology in Southwest Michigan!

Watch the 2024 MWSW Impact Award Video!

Meet Hannah Klein, Career Navigator for Michigan Works! Southwest and Shining Star for February! Hannah Klein, Career Navigator for Michigan Works! Southwest, frequently assists with organizing events and navigating last-minute schedule changes. She stands out as the best person to go to with general questions regarding services offered at the Calhoun County Service Center. Additionally,…

To most people, laser assisted machining, or LAM, sounds extremely complicated; add an ultra-precision lathe to that, and it sounds like something from a science-fiction movie. However, it is all very real, and is happening right here in Southwest Michigan at a company called Micro-LAM. Micro-LAM participates in the ultra-precision optics market by not only supporting the manufacturing of ultra precision optics, but by manufacturing capital equipment as well…

Meet Lynn Page, Business Solutions Coordinator for Michigan Works! Southwest and Shining Star for January! Lynn has hit the ground running in 2024. Through doing incredible research into how employers and job seekers can utilize the MiREACH grant, she has identified ways to connect them to this resource. Lynn has taken on several speaking engagements…

The phrase “it takes a village” usually applies to raising children, but Donovan McVey and Joshua Gray are taking the unique approach of applying that to new local businesses. McVey and Gray are co-founders of the business consulting firm Room 35 in Kalamazoo, which focuses on sustained accelerated growth for construction companies…

Meet Shawn DeYoung, December’s Shining Star! Shawn is a strong advocate in the community for Michigan Works! Southwest and is dedicated to building deep relationships with local employers. Through heartfelt and meaningful actions, Shawn continually goes above and beyond to serve employer customers! Shawn is thoughtful in all the work he does as a member…

LANSING, Mich. — Four Battle Creek employers earned honors Wednesday in a ceremony following a roundtable discussion at Kellogg Community College aimed at recruiting more area businesses to offer Registered Apprenticeships to build the local talent pipeline.

Michigan Works! Southwest is pleased to announce the digital publication of the 2023 Annual Report! The past year was filled with many achievements and successes as Michigan Works! Southwest worked wholeheartedly to prepare a qualified workforce to meet the current and emerging needs of business and industry and foster collaborative partnerships to empower a compassionate,…

The Michigan Works! Southwest team extends our congratulations to our director, Jakki Bungart-Bibb, on being awarded the Christine Quinn Excellence in Leadership Award at the Michigan Works! Annual Conference on September 11, 2023! Christine Quinn was a champion for Michigan’s workforce in the U.S. Department of Labor and was a strong advocate for the system…

Michigan Works! Southwest wishes to extend our congratulations to Barb Travis on receiving the Michigan Works! Association Annual Shining Star Award for our Michigan Works! Area! The Michigan Works! Association’s Annual Shining Star Award Celebrates Michigan Works! Agency front line staff who, through dedication and outstanding contributions to workforce development, personifies the Michigan Works! mission.…

Congratulations to Amanda Rosenberg, Michigan Works! Southwest’s Planning and Policy Administrator, on receiving her Local Labor Market Information User Certification! Amanda earned this certification through a three-day labor market information (LMI) training developed by the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, which trained her in how to use LMI to transform the…