Press Release
The Norfolk area has tremendous potential and a unique opportunity to reinvent the way it works to promote job creation and economic development. It also has a great history of community development. The two really need to go hand in hand in order for a community to be truly successful.
Job creation leads to wealth creation, which is the whole basis for economic development.
In today’s society, however, we must not just work to create jobs, but more precisely we need to attract the right kinds of jobs—jobs that appeal to our high school and college graduates, as well as young professionals and their families.
We need to create opportunities for both primary and secondary jobs.
Spousal employment opportunities become a key factor in attracting families to any community.
The Norfolk area has several very strong employment sectors where we should continue to focus our efforts: steel production and metal fabrication, medical and health care services, transportation services, warehousing, wholesaling, retail and higher education, to name a few.
All of those sectors require skills and talents that command above-average wages.
New and emerging opportunities in ethanol production and other value-added products are creating exciting new job opportunities for highly paid operators and professionals. Our challenge will be to attract and recruit the work force needed to staff these positions.
The same will hold true with our emerging opportunity of a new nursing college in partnership with University of Nebraska Medical Center and Northeast.
This will require a community wide and regional funding effort like no other in our history.
We will need to rely more and more on our high school and college graduates to stay or return to our area communities if we ever hope to fill the positions these new opportunities create.
If we could attract or retain just 5 to 10 percent of our graduating seniors each year, we would grown our area communities and continue to populate our schools, churches and main street businesses. Young families become the future community leaders.
Norfolk and area communities need to approach the future with enthusiasm, creativity and vision. Expectations have changed.
Young families expect affordable housing, good schools, access to leisure and recreation opportunities, and in general a quality of life with access to big city amenities with the security and safety net of rural communities with strong family values.
I believe we really need to focus on: collaboration, cooperation, partnerships, creativity, enthusiasm and inclusion. As I travel the state of Nebraska working on various community and economic development projects, the community assets that most impress me are those that result in collaboration between cities, villages, counties, chambers of commerce and education at all levels.
When these entities approach projects and opportunities with a common vision, amazing things can and do happen.
The cost of doing business continues to spiral beyond the ability of most organizations and government bodies to sustain themselves, much less continue to meet the growing demands upon them.
Partnerships hold the key to affordable services and programs, if for no other reason than the power of “economies of scale.” Any time multiple entities can partner to deliver services to constituents, whether in common facilities, shared cost, or simply with a common mission, they can’t help but produce a more positive and affordable outcome.
The greatest economic threat to our region is the continuing loss of our young people to urban areas.
The Nucor Detailing Center is a prime example of how we can reverse this trend. These are the right kinds of jobs at the right time in our history.
Just think of examples like this throughout our region: good job opportunities, above average wage levels, professionals and young families returning to the area.
We also have great schools, churches, affordable housing, world class health care, superb higher education opportunities, regional shopping and recreational opportunities.
What we really need to do at this point in time is to “celebrate our success” and look to the future with optimism and enthusiasm.
By Joe Ferguson
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
