2026-02-09-pw-study-session-supporting-documents

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1.New Industry Entry WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND LIVING-WAGE JOBS • Old Heat provides the initial platform for aerospace suppliers, agricultural technology firms, advanced materials companies, and embedded Two critical components of regional diversification involve both the ability to systems developers to establish a foothold in Kittitas County. prepare and retain talent. Old Heat aligns with CWU's mission as a steward of • These sectors bring in outside revenue and integrate with supply chains place by training students, graduates, and residents for high-skill, high-wage in adjacent metro economies such as King County and Yakima Valley. roles. • Over time,this entry fosters local cluster formation, allowing smaller firms to grow alongside and service anchor industries. This includes: • Entrepreneurship and innovation training through workshops, bootcamps, 2.Technology Diffusion into Legacy Sectors and credit-bearing courses. • Through ACTI's proposed training and technology integration programs, Old Heat acts as an on-ramp for existing businesses.This would involve • Internships and applied projects linking CWU students with Old Heat helping local firms adopt Al, robotics, sensing, and blockchain systems. tenants,ensuring local graduates see viable career pathways without • This transition upgrades legacy industries into hybrid models(e.g., smart leaving the region. agriculture,digitally integrated tourism), which raises productivity and wages in existing businesses while expanding the industrial diversity Upskilling Programs for the existing workforce,focused on digital tools, of the region by converting "Additive°and"Retentive"enterprises into software, and advanced manufacturing practices. accelerative base industries, contributing to further growth. The deployment of Old Heat towards and within high-value industry activities 3.Cross-Sector Convergence leads to a multiplier cycle of economic returns where the input needs of the • Old Heat deliberately encourages the fusion of industries such as business activity, as well as the engagement by the high-wage employees within agriculture with smart equipment, aerospace with embedded software, the local economic ecosystem leads to further economic impacts in the local and manufacturing with clean technologies. system.This increases the purchasing and business activities of the other local • This convergence creates new hybrid industries that are rooted locally businesses to further enrich the local supply chains in a ripple effect that benefits but competitive globally, adding depth and variety to the economic base both the local businesses as well as the local government's revenue and ability to while establishing an intellectual property platform. fund and improve infrastructure. 4. Institutional Integration Tables 2 and 3 show the estimated impacts of agriculture manufacturing, • CWU's applied programs provide a constant stream of talent and aerospace manufacturing, using IMPLAN modeling and assuming Old Heat as research that feeds into Old Heat. only a raw space for those industry activities rather than a continual funnel or • In return, commercialization and entrepreneurship activities ensure staging area for advance industry to move into the area. that knowledge and know-how lead to positive"spill-over'of regional capabilities, resulting in the creation of patents, and high-value employment. • The result is a system where innovation becomes an embedded feature of the economy, not an occasional event. Old Heat CERB Feasibility Study 155