Press Release
Last week’s “It’s Everybody’s Problem” series of stories in the Daily News totaled about 10,000 words. Here are what we consider to be the 30 or so most important of them:
“We’ve been at job creation for 30 years, but that model is shifting right now. It’s always essential, but what I think is more important is recruitment of talent.”
Those are the opinions of Caleb Pollard, a Nebraska Workforce Development consultant based in Lincoln. What he’s suggesting in these two short sentences is major change in philosophy in the way Norfolk, Columbus and all of Nebraska go about economic development efforts.
It doesn’t mean that communities should stop trying to recruit specific businesses or industries to town. Not at all.
What it does mean is that if communities hope to be successful in doing that, they better also make sure they have an adequate number and the kind of workers the companies are needing.
Don’t just recruit businesses, Mr. Pollard would advise, recruit people.
Fortunately for Norfolk, the labor shortage that already has severely impacted other communities, such as Columbus, hasn’t hit here yet with full force.
Fortunately for Norfolk, a new superintendent of schools recognizes the need to change the way students are educated in order to prepare them for the years ahead.
Fortunately for Norfolk, a task force made up of representatives of various organizations and institutions already has been formed to grapple with the problem.
Fortunately for Norfolk, those involved in economic development efforts endorse the idea of recruiting individuals and the talent they bring with them.
And fortunately for Norfolk, the community already has an active organization—the Norfolk Area Recruiters—whose members are doing just that.
Unfortunately for Norfolk, the successful volunteer efforts of the Norfolk Area Recruiters may not be enough. As Jay Knobbe, president of the organization, indicated, more work could be done if the organization was more adequately funded.
Columbus, which needs new workers right now, has developed its Drive for Five program that seeks to recruit 500 people to Columbus in five years. It has the advantage of being financially supported by several grants and businesses throughout the Columbus community to the point that it has a full-time coordinator.
Norfolk should decide how it wants to stem the labor shortage and then get behind the solution.
The Norfolk Area Recruiters already are in place and would seem to be the vehicle to use.
Editorial
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
