"Come Home to Minnesota" Worker Recruitment Campaign Aimed At Former Minnesotans.

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 1998--The state agency responsible for advancing Minnesota's economic vitality has developed a strategy to counter the growing shortage of technical and professional workers.

Companies throughout the state are offering incentives to bolster the workforce, including signing bonuses and finders fees. Now they've been joined in their efforts by the Department of Trade and Economic Development's (DTED) Business and Community Development unit with its plan, "Come Home to Minnesota," to bring former Minnesotans back to the state.

Gary Fields, deputy commissioner of Business and Community Development, sought input and support from communities, employers and firms in addressing the worker shortage. He also found concern among communities that their populations are aging rapidly and the impact that will have on the future.

Fields said that a partnership between DTED , local communities and their businesses should yield positive results. Recruitment materials will be distributed to former Minnesotans identified by the communities from high school reunion lists, college outplacement lists and other local resources. Since the recruitment plan is aimed at computer-literate technical and professional workers in their 20s and 30s, the materials will encourage prospects to view the state's job database on the Internet. Businesses will receive assistance with posting their openings on Internet sites.

The Department of Economic Security web site (www.des.state.mn.us) includes a list of online job banks, newspaper employment classifieds and access to more than 50 Minnesota Workforce Centers statewide. ISEEK, or Internet System for Education and Employment Knowledge (www.iseek.org) is a comprehensive database for job seekers. It contains thousands of up-to-the minute job postings, information on the fastest growing occupations in Minnesota, and average wages paid.

Fields and his BCD marketing staff have been meeting with community representatives to outline how BCD and the community can work together in recruiting workers. The office has also published a new recruitment brochure, Minnesota Living, that will be made available at no cost to communities and businesses.

According to Fields, "To our knowledge, Minnesota is the only state to launch a worker recruitment plan like this. Certainly, cities and businesses have developed plans to entice workers," he said. "But even though this is on a larger scale than previous efforts, we're not spending a lot of resources to fund a broad media campaign. We're hoping our targeted approach will get the notice of a mobile group of former Minnesotans so we can increase our workforce and rejuvenate some of our aging communities in Greater Minnesota."