FMWF Chamber Ignites our future

The purpose of a cooperative is to realize the economic, cultural, and social needs of the organization’s members and its surrounding community. Cass County Electric
Cooperative (CCEC) has a strong commitment to the communities we power, and we focus on strengthening the communities in which we serve. When our communities thrive, the members served by the cooperative realize the benefits, not just a small group of shareholders. CCEC is a reflection of our local community and its evolving needs. We view our role as a catalyst for good and making our corner of the world a better place, which is why our support of local Chambers and rural and economic development groups is so prevalent.

The Ignite workforce initiative

The Ignite initiative is our region’s latest workforce effort to drive continued success for our business community. Recently launched by the FMWF Chamber, Ignite works
to connect students, educators, professionals, businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits through meaningful and intentional engagement opportunities.

Ignite FMWF platform

The initiative’s platform, Ignite FMWF, serves to remove barriers and directly connect our current and future workforce with our region’s businesses and professionals.
Companies are able to create profiles, post regional job opportunities, share videos about their careers and opportunities, available, partake in training and engagement
opportunities in the metro, and much more. Employees and professionals of businesses can also create profiles to showcase their skillsets, expertise, and areas of interest as it relates to getting involved with educators, students, and more.

K-12 career awareness, exploration, and preparation

Ignite FMWF is our region’s digital platform that provides K-12 students and teachers valuable tools to engage in meaningful career exploration. Teachers can use the Ignite platform’s dashboard to assign tasks and then view students’ progress as they utilize the online resources. Students can explore a breadth of career resources, including internships, learning opportunities, skills assessments, and real-life workers offering testimonials about their field through career portraits, videos, and/or virtual field trips. Ignite is designed for students to explore careers as something beyond just a “job” - it provides information about entering specific job fields as well as the education requirements and local salary expectations to better equip people to enter the workforce. Students using the platform will also be able to see which educational institutions offer specific courses needed for the field of their interest. In the future, the platform will also be a resource for financial literacy and grant-funded opportunities available in the area.