14 Dec The Valley Economic Alliance Newsletter February 2016 Highlights
The Valley Economic Alliance’s Red Team is meeting with Porter Ranch Businesses
The Valley Economic Alliance’s (TVEA) Red Team is visiting businesses in the Porter Ranch business park that were affected by the Aliso Canyon gas leak. Since November 2015, businesses in Porter Ranch have been financially impacted and seen a reduction in sales as much as 60-percent. “The Economic Alliance’s number one concern is to keep business doors open and save jobs,” said TVEA Chairman Richard Katz.
TVEA’s business assistance and layoff aversion programs offer one-on-one consultations with new and established businesses, and businesses that are struggling or expanding. In the past six months, TVEA has assisted more than 1,200 Valley based businesses that are financially stressed. Kenn Phillips, TVEA’s President and CEO shared that “One of the first questions we ask business owners is, what is keeping you up at night?” Understanding each concern is the first step to prioritizing the services that will help them stay in business,” said Phillips.
TVEA is collaborating with Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, America’s Job Centers, the Chatsworth-Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations in order to provide valuable resources to the businesses in the Porter Ranch area, address issues and help save jobs. Some resources that are offered to businesses include On-The-Job Training programs, energy cost reduction, and much more.
SAVE THE DATE – Saturday, May 21, 2016
The Valley of the Stars Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony
The 2016 Valley of the Stars Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony is set for
Saturday, May 21 at the Los Angeles Zoo, from 6pm-10pm. Formal invitation, honorees and more information to come.
The Valley Business Expo ’16
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Network, learn about valuable resources and showcase your products and services at the annual Valley Business Expo ’16 on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City.
Visit thevalley.net/ValleyBusinessExpo16 for sponsor and exhibitor rates and details. Contact Erica Gass at egass@economicalliance.org to register. Special $249 exhibitor rate for the first 50 to register.
Trade X – Trade Connect
Thursday, March 17, 2016
TradeX-Trade Connect is set for Thursday, March 17th at Los Angeles Mission College’s Campus Center Main.
This event includes demonstrations on new innovations by top manufacturers including clean technology and presentations on resources to enter the global market.
Hosted by The Valley Economic Alliance, Port of Los Angeles, and The Valley International Trade Association, TradeX-Trade Connect is a great opportunity for those that want to enter or grow in the global market.
Register at www.tinyurl.com/tradex416
Health Collaborative Findings
The Valley Economic Alliance (TVEA) hosted a Health Collaborative Meeting regarding Registered Nurses (RN) on Thursday, January 28th, in partnership with El Proyecto WorkSource. Hospitals and colleges were surveyed to help create a sustainable and successful post-graduation train to place registered nurse program that exceeds local healthcare employers.
Survey responses revealed insights on hospital and college’s key challenges. The RN collaborative was developed based upon the number one job opening in Los Angeles County. As of August 2015, there were 5,417 RN job openings. Hospitals hire 59% of all new RN graduates, and shared that they desire to hire more RN’s with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (BSN). Currently, the majority of working nurses in Los Angeles County have an Associate’s Degree.
Supply BSN Challenge – Universities do not supply enough BSN’s to meet industry demand. Each year there is two times the number of nursing students that apply to four year colleges than available seats, thus students wait 1 ½ years before they can start their nursing program.
Next Steps – Hospitals shared that in addition to hiring more BSN’s they also want to achieve Magnet Hospital quality status by 2020. This high level of patient care would require each of the hospitals to invest more infrastructure and employee training.
Opportunities – Hospitals shared they were unaware of any new hire or training incentives. During the next Collaborative Meeting, TVEA will share incentive opportunities including Employment Training Panel (ETP) and On-Job-Training (OJT) for new hires or incumbent workers.
The Health Collaborative was led by Nancy Carnahan, TVEA Strategic Program Management Consultant and Magdalena Duran, El Proyecto Worksource Director.
Location Analytics
The Valley Economic Alliance (TVEA) is currently tracking foot, bike and vehicle traffic on and around Van Nuys Blvd., using a Buzd Analytics sensor located in the Alliance offices. By reading cell phone mac addresses, the sensor is able to track how many vehicles drive by the building, how many people enter and exit the building or how many people walk past it.
On Thursday, February 4th, Kenn Phillips, TVEA President and the Buzd team met with Lieutenant Marc Evans with the Los Angeles Police Department to discuss how this technology can help fight prostitution in the Valley. Lt. Evans saw the practicality of using the sensor in buildings and areas where prostitution has been reported.
Photographed are Steve Adams, Vice President, Business Development and Partnership Acquisition; Carl Petrini, Vice President Enterprise, Americas and Andy Lovsted, Vice President, American Sales with Buzd; Kenn Phillips, President & CEO; Michael Hadley, Business Assistance Specialist and Jacqui Matsumuto, Investor Relations with TVEA.
In the News
Coty moving OPI nail polish manufacturing from North Hollywood to North Carolina
Coty Inc., a global beauty products company, is moving its North Hollywood-based OPI Products Inc. nail polish operations to North Carolina, the company said Monday.
“Oh boy, that’s bad,” said Kenn Phillips, President of The Valley Economic Alliance, which focuses on business recruitment and retention.
OPI has manufactured and distributed a line of popular nail polishes and has been based at its North Hollywood complex at 13034 Saticoy St. since it was formed in 1981, a Coty spokeswoman said.
Manufacturing will now be done in Sanford, North Carolina, where Coty has its largest U.S. plant.
Phillips noted that the San Fernando Valley has a thriving sector and while OPI’s North Hollywood facility, if is vacated, would need upgrading it could be an attractive option for another company.
Much of the work involves adding compounds like color to base products that are made offshore, he said.
That part of North Hollywood is zoned for industrial uses.
“This space is unique. There are only a few places left where you can use solvents and other types of materials. It is already approved for this,” Phillips said. “This would be an asset for these kinds of companies. It’s a pretty big space but they would have to invest in (the manufacturing line) and automate it.”
Source: Los Angeles Daily News
In the News: Device Counting
In preparation for a marketing campaign using street banners, The Valley Economic Alliance wanted to know how many vehicles and pedestrians would be passing by to see the banners.
So it turned to a software and technology company that could provide just that.
Buzd placed a sensor in the Alliance’s office in the 5100 block of Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks capable of detecting Wi-Fi-connected smartphones and other mobile devices up to 140 yards away. The sensors gave a real-time measurement of vehicles and passers-by. Additional sensors are being installed near banners in Burbank and Glendale.
Alliance CEO Kenn Phillips said the data collected by the sensors will be handy in telling companies that may want to sponsor a banner in front of their business what the exposure can bring.
The nonprofit’s office has also become a demo site where San Fernando Valley companies, government agencies and educational institutions can see the Buzd technology at work as demonstrated by Steve Adams, Vice President of business development for the Americas of the Monterey company.
Phillips estimates that about 50 companies or agencies have seen the demonstration in the past month.
In his visits to the L.A. area, Adams has met with representatives from Cal State University Northridge, Pepperdine University and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Requests for specific project-related information have come from the San Fernando Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Los Angeles Fire Department, he added.
Buzd plans to open a local office in the same building where the alliance is located, Adams said.
Retail shops, school campuses, large shopping malls and street projects are among the uses where Buzd’s location analytics technology can give a look at how people move in and out of certain spaces.
Adams told of a coffee shop that decided to open an hour earlier to capture business from pedestrians and drivers going by. The shop saw revenue go up after making that change.
“It does not have to be complicated, life-changing stuff,” Adams said. “It can be simple.”
While the data is collected by detection of mobile devices, no information is known about the identity of the device owners. Buzd does not sell or disclose any device-specific information to third parties.
Source: San Fernando Valley Business Journal