Unemployed? South Dakota has a job for you

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Unemployed? Or thinking about switching careers but fearful of the current job market? South Dakota wants you.

With unemployment in the state about half the national average and businesses expanding on a regular basis, the state finds itself in a unique position: too many jobs and not enough people to fill them.

So South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard is poised to sign into law a unique plan to remedy the situation by authorizing the state hire a recruitment agency to bring in 1,000 out-of-state workers to fill in-demand jobs for companies like Sioux Falls-based Raven Industries.

Business has been booming at the technology firm, which employs nearly 1,000 people in the state. The company hopes to grow its engineering divisions but worries about finding enough qualified engineers in the state.

"It's going to be a challenge to fill the demand," said Jan Matthiesen, director of administration at Raven. "Of course we pull from our local universities. We have excellent universities here and a lot of good talent there, but those students are also very much recruited to other places as well."

Daugaard hopes a recruitment agency can remedy that situation, attracting new workers to the state and convincing South Dakota residents who left to return.

The agency, ManpowerGroup, has already been selected, and the Legislature recently gave final approval to a bill that appropriates money for the firm. Daugaard must still sign the bill into law. Manpower will start recruiting workers to the state April 1, said Robert Meyer, the agency's branch manager in Sioux Falls.

"This is extremely unique. I don't think it's ever been done," Meyer said. "It's almost opposite what's going on in the rest of the United States. They have the people but not the jobs. We have the jobs but not the people."

The agency will focus on recruiting a wide variety of workers in manufacturing, engineering and informational technology — from unskilled workers at the production level to highly skilled welders and machinists and professionals. Jobs offered through the program must first be made available to South Dakota residents for at least 30 days.

Manpower will receive $3,000 for each worker it places with a base salary less than $40,000. It will get $5,100 for each employee it places with a base salary of $40,000 to $80,000.

South Dakota will split the placement costs with the companies employing the workers.

Daugaard's office estimates the 1,000 new workers will help the state's economy grow by more than $120 million and increase the state tax revenue by $3.1 million each year.

"With unemployment so high and so many wanting to get back to work, the governor felt there was a job and a way of life here for them," said Dusty Johnson, Daugaard's chief of staff.

The governor feels the private sector is better equipped to recruit out-of-state workers because of its larger presence across the country, Johnson said.

The recruitment effort is part of a broader program called South Dakota Workforce Initiatives, or South Dakota WINS. The goal of the 20-point plan, introduced at Daugaard's State of the State speech in January, is to better educate and train students for jobs, promote rural health occupations and attract new workers to the state.

The initiative will build upon a program started in 2006 to recruit people from South Dakota to return to their home state by matching them with job opportunities. More than 2,000 families have returned to the state as a result.

Yankton-based Applied Engineering Inc. has its own strategy for seeking workers who don't live in South Dakota, traveling to technical colleges in other states to recruit. The company, which manufactures aluminum components primarily for the aerospace industry, offers several incentives to attract new employees, including signing bonuses and covering the cost of relocating.

Yet there still are not enough workers to fill the demand of the company, which has expanded three times in the last seven years.

Part of the problem is that interest in manufacturing has declined, said Rick Duimstra, finance and human resources director at Applied Engineering.

"I think a lot of burden goes back on manufacturers," he said. "What did we do during the last 20 years to promote manufacturing careers? Probably not much. As such, kids have migrated elsewhere."

State officials hope Manpower can change that.

The agency expects to have five to seven members of its team focused on filling vacant jobs in South Dakota, Meyer said.

As it receives orders from the state for particular companies, Manpower will post the jobs to its national account system. This will broadcast the openings to 700 different Manpower branches with more than 1,000 recruiters nationwide who will talk to job seekers about the benefits of moving to South Dakota.

For potential employees who don't know much about South Dakota, Meyer said Manpower will stress the state's low crime rate, short commutes, low state sale's tax and abundant opportunities for hunting and fishing.

"I love it," said the Manpower branch manager, who has lived in the state his whole life except for a stint in the military. "Seriously, I've traveled to over 20 countries and I just couldn't wait to get back to South Dakota."

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