Arkansas Advanced Energy and the City of Fort Smith Launch SkillStream Workforce Pilot in Fort Smith
The Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF) and the City of Fort Smith announced today partnerships with four organizations in the Fort Smith metro area to collaborate on SkillStream, an advanced energy career pipeline focused on connecting employers with job-ready talent.
The selected partners include University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS) Center for Economic Development (CED), Camp Alliance, Arkansas United, and Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD). Collectively, the selected organizations represent a wide range of community-based nonprofits, workforce intermediaries, educational institutions, and industry partners, reflecting SkillStream’s emphasis on inclusive, employer-driven solutions across multiple entry points into advanced energy careers. Together, these organizations will help identify and close gaps between employers and individuals seeking careers in advanced energy, with a local employer requested initial focus on energy efficiency, HVAC, and advanced manufacturing.
Left to Right: Jody Bergstrom, Chief Executive Officer, Camp Alliance; Mireya Reith, Founding CEO, Arkansas United; Sasha Grist, Executive Director, Western Arkansas Planning.& Development District (WAPDD); Joshua Robertson, Director of Citizen Services, City of Fort Smith; Kendall Ross, Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic and Workforce Development, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (UAFS) Center for Economic Development; Rhonda Hays, City of Fort Smith; April Ambrose, Director of Workforce Development, Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF); Ashley Harris, Assistant Executive Director, WAPDD. Photo taken at the UAFS Workforce Development and Advanced Manufacturing Centers grand opening on May 4, 2026.
"SkillStream represents a unique opportunity for Fort Smith to build a workforce that is ready for the future,” said Joshua Robertson, Fort Smith Director of Citizen Services. “By bringing together local employers, educators, and state/regional partners, we’re creating a direct pipeline that not only fills high-demand jobs in advanced energy and manufacturing but also gives our citizens access to stable, well-paying careers right here in our community."
The Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation promotes greater public understanding of advanced energy in Arkansas through research, public education programs, and economic and workforce development. For more information about AAEF, visit www.arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org.
“After hosting our employer forum and surveying their needs, we’re continuing the SkillStream process by bringing together trusted community partners, educators, and employers, to create a collaborative workforce pilot. This phased approach allows us to listen, learn, and adapt, as we build multiple cohort pathways that work for employers while expanding access to meaningful, family-sustaining careers, which benefits the economic growth of individuals and employers alike,” said April Ambrose, AAEF Director of Workforce Development.
The UAFS Center for Economic Development recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Development Centers, designed to respond to a growing need for workforce development and engineering training in the advanced manufacturing sector both in the Fort Smith region and across Arkansas. The Workforce Development Center will expand short-term, employer-driven training for unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers through the Manufacturing Academy, apprenticeship expansion, and technical upskilling in areas such as PLCs, robotics, mechatronics, instrumentation, additive manufacturing, and industrial automation. For more information on the UAFS CED, visit https://uafs.edu/ced/index.php.
“We are excited to partner with the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation on the SkillStream program because it directly aligns with UAFS’s mission to support students, employers, and the economic growth of the River Valley. This work has the potential to strengthen career pathways, help employers address real workforce needs, and create meaningful opportunities for individuals in our region to access high-demand careers," said Kendall Ross, UAFS Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic and Workforce Development.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers keynote at the UAFS Workforce Development and Advanced Manufacturing Centers grand opening.
Camp Alliance, Inc. is a public 501c3 charitable organization founded in 2010 with a singular mission: to serve and uplift Service Members, Veterans, and their families (SMVF). Its core values of compassion, empowerment, education, and collaboration drive everything it does as it strives to enhance the quality of life for those who have sacrificed for our nation. For more information, visit https://www.campallianceinc.org.
"We are always striving to improve the quality of life for service members, veterans, and families,” said Jody Bergstrom, Chief Executive Officer, for Camp Alliance.
Arkansas United (AU) is a 15-year-old Hispanic worker-led nonprofit that scales "human infrastructure" through a statewide network of 11 resource centers (including one in Fort Smith) and 200 navigators to move residents from the margins of society into the center of the workforce. As a Community Workforce Development Partner, AU utilizes its "Return on Relationship" (ROR) model to stabilize the social and mental health of workers, ensuring long-term retention and economic mobility in high-opportunity industries. For more information, visit https://arkansasunited.org/.
“Arkansas United is thrilled to deepen our collaboration with AAEF to bridge the gap between Arkansas’s 'invisible' populations and the high-growth energy sector,” said Mireya Reith, Founding CEO of Arkansas United. “By integrating our CONNECT to Work framework with the LAUNCH platform, we aren't just filling jobs; we are building a resident-centered 'No Wrong Door' system that transforms a worker’s lived experience into a professional asset. We are excited to prove that when you stabilize a worker's legal and social foundations, you don't just help a family thrive—you save employers thousands in turnover costs and build a more prosperous, inclusive Arkansas economy.”
Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD) is proud to support the AAEF program by helping connect local communities, employers, and individuals with resources that strengthen workforce and economic development opportunities in the Fort Smith area. WAPDD assists counties, cities, and unincorporated areas with grant writing and administration, workforce development, 911/GIS services, and transportation planning for more than 50 years. For more information, visit www.wapdd.org.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to connect individuals to real-world experiences that spark interest and build lasting careers in advanced energy,” said Sasha Grist, Executive Director of the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District.
With funding secured from Metroplan and partners in place, AAEF and the City of Fort Smith are now selecting a core group of Fort Smith employer partners in three cohorts: energy efficiency, HVAC and controls, and advanced manufacturing for SkillStream’s initial rollout in Fort Smith. The goal is to provide a streamlined engagement process, so employers can efficiently address their training and hiring needs, while strengthening the state’s talent ecosystem for these high-quality, innovative careers. Employers who are interested can fill out an interest form and request a no-commitment, brief introductory call with April Ambrose to determine if the program is a good fit. For more information about AAEF and SkillStream, visit www.arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org/skillstream.
