Workforce Investment Board of Ventura County Adds CLU’s Dr. Gerhard Apfelthaler

VENTURA, Calif. - Feb. 11, 2014 - PRLog -- The Workforce Investment Board (WIB) of Ventura County announced the addition of Dr. Gerhard Apfelthaler to its board. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors officially appointed Apfelthaler on February 4 for a three-year term.

         Apfelthaler is Dean of the School of Management at California Lutheran University. “As an educator, the mission of the Workforce Investment Board resonates with me. Our economic environment is changing so fast that we can't leave individuals, companies or non-profit organizations (such as my own university) on their own. They need resources and networked solutions,” says Apfelthaler. “I hope to bring very distinct viewpoints to the work of the Workforce Investment Board. Interacting with companies of all industries and sizes is an important part of my job and I look forward to sharing that understanding of the marketplace with the WIB.”

         “The WIB is fortunate to have board members from academia such as Gerhard who are passionate about their students and their future,” says Cheryl Moore, WIB executive director. “As Dean of CLU’s School of Management, Gerhard brings his desire and drive to see that local employer needs are met by those entering the workforce.”

         “It's very important for us to not only provide students with knowledge and skills in functional areas, but we need to go beyond. We need to help them learn how to think, how to never stop being curious, how to never stop learning, and how to function effectively in dynamic, changing settings. These sort of transferable skills will help employees to stay current and be relatively independent of trends in the economy,” says Apfelthaler. “Employers often say that human resources are their most important asset. For many companies this is indeed true and they should make sure that it stays that way--by helping their employees to learn and to grow, even if the requirements of their current positions don't call for that.”

         Members of the WIB include leaders from business, economic development, education, labor, government and community-based organizations.

About the Workforce Investment Board

         The Workforce Investment Board administers federal funds that help to support local Job & Career Centers (a proud partner of America's Job Center of California) and other free adult, youth, and employer programs and services in Ventura County. For more information, call 800-500-7705 or visit http://portal.countyofventura.org/portal/page/portal/WIB.