NPC hires new vice president for Workforce
Bill Allison, the former director of Workforce Development at Northwest Florida State College, is the new vice president for Workforce at National Park College, and while he began his role on Dec. 1, he will be working remotely until January, NPC announced Monday.
“It feels great. It feels good about definitely coming in and being a part of some already established success there at the institution. I’m super excited to be given the opportunity to come in and be a part of that,” Allison said Monday.
Allison said he believes he was selected for the position because the college did their diligence in the long process of finding a vice president, noting he knew it wasn’t an easy decision because there were some good strong candidates.
“I’m not sure exactly what set me apart from the others, at least from the college’s perspective, but I do believe that some of the proven success that me and my team had at my last institution, definitely carries a lot of weight coming in, because there are some economies very similar from the institution that I’m coming from, as there in Hot Springs,” Allison said.
“I think that helps a lot being able to come in and kind of understand what some of the economic drivers are of that area.”
Allison was also director of Continuing Education and Adult Education at Northwest Florida. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry and is currently enrolled at Liberty University seeking a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, the college said in a news release.
Allison said he decided to make the move to Arkansas from Florida because he ended up in Florida as a result of being in the military. Allison had a 12-year career in the U.S. Air Force.
The release said he was named Outstanding Airman of the Year for his “exceptional skills and leadership conducting missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.” He was selected into the noncommissioned officer ranks and later completed Airmen Leadership School
where he was presented the Leadership Award, “the highest nonacademic award achievable in the Airmen Leadership School.” He was also an instructor for the Community College of the Air Force.
He stayed in Florida after he separated from the military because of the opportunities that were presented to him at the time.
Allison and his family looked into the opportunity presented to him by NPC looking for a new vice president for Workforce, noting they wanted to live in a place where they could invest for many years to come.
“After looking at the area and reading up a little bit about the history of Hot Springs and the institution, we strongly feel that this is a wonderful place for us to raise our kids through the last years of their secondary education,” Allison said.
“We feel called to the area as a place where we can start establishing some roots. This was only confirmed when I flew out there for the final interview, met with not only people at the college, but also some community members, and we were blown away by the hospitality and support,” he said
“It confirmed our notion that this is a wonderful place for us to raise (our) kids,” Allison said, noting he was most excited about meeting the needs of the workforce and making this one of his top priorities.
He said with NPC having vocational trades and career and technical education trades they are ahead of the game for building career lattices.
“Local students can get a top- line education and never even depart Hot Springs, which means they can continue to pour back into the community as they get into their adult life. I’m excited about building upon the success that already took place years ago when these two institutions merged to make National Park College,” Allison said.
“Bill is coming to us with a high level of energy and a unique passion for workforce development. His prior experience in the field, particularly in aerospace and tourism, will be of great benefit to NPC and the Garland County community. I look forward to Bill joining the team and adding to the already aggressive momentum,” John Hogan, NPC president, said in the release.