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Employer Quotes

The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Transportation

They are talking about this topic: Workforce Trends & Challenges

 

The quotes below are about this issue:
Location plays a significant role in employers' hiring practices as well as their ability to attract and retain the necessary workforce. Several employers say that they prefer to hire local workers since they are more likely to stay long term; however, it is often difficult to attract those with specialized knowledge to rural areas, particularly when specialized training programs are not located in the area.

Employer Quote Region
"We've tried some people who were from the [college] program in the Twin Cities. But when they got done with their training, they went to work in their home town and not here. So we don't have a local guy here that wants to go to training for it..." Central
"We always see the younger generation coming in much more advanced than other generations. Our issue obviously is there is no parts course in the state of Minnesota, so we don't have that to draw from. We also have 14 machine shops so we do utilize the machine shop course for automotive. The only issue is that there's one course remaining left in Minnesota and they specialize in performance, which is probably only 10 percent of our business. So we're real limited on what we can draw from the system." Central
"So we've had [new hires] from rural western Minnesota. But they have come from these institutions.
Q: So they come here for school and then they stay here?
A: Definitely depends on whether they grew up with, either corn fields or concrete."
Central
"In our case we seem to have a lot of people from western Minnesota. They seem to migrate to either Ridgewater or St. Cloud. They don't want to go to a big city." Central
"To be more specialized, you'd have to be willing to go where the job is, and that becomes a challenge. Well, especially lately, if you find an experienced technician...if they own a home, good luck. They're not going to sell their house in this market as easily. Their [spouse] might have a job. And it's very difficult to get someone to relocate." Northwest
"We pull locally. We just had an ad in the local paper for somebody and I had two applicants." Northwest
"As far as the demographic goes, I definitely like to see the keep-it-local attitude. When we're searching for people, I would prefer to have somebody that really grew up here and has been here his entire life." Northwest
"I think it's kind of an isolated area. Whenever we have an ad in the paper or we're looking for an experienced technician, we've almost had no luck at all getting one, really. Do you notice that? And even if we were to get one, the odds of them having any kind of Honda or Chrysler experience or a certified Ford technician go into their door right from the area is pretty low." Northwest
"Locals have roots here and they plan on staying here. They know what to expect. So it's a long-term investment, obviously. The stability part is important." Northwest