Press Release
This is the second in a series introducing the Community Economic Development Council, its purpose, its committees and opportunities open to all in Carbon County to participate in this important process.
The Community Economic Development Council was organized by the Carbon County Commission following the study done by (LYRB) and the restructuring of the Carbon County Economic Development office with Rita Vigor as Economic Development Specialist. The Carbon County Commission and Economic Development specialist are engaged in and support this effort.
The focus today is to introduce the Employee Recruitment and Development Committee. This committee is focused on attracting new employees to Carbon County, and helping our current citizens find meaningful employment that compensates them with a sustainable living wage. This effort focuses on the gaps in local workforce skills required for jobs with a median pay of $50,000 a year or more and attracting skilled professionals to relocate to the area.
With a mix of educational, private and public entities, this committee brings together a wide array of perspectives focused on improving employment opportunities for citizens in our community. An example of this effort is a video recruitment project. The Employee Recruitment & Development Committee, in conjunction with local business, is developing a recruiting video to attract employees with a certain skill set. The hope is the video will peak the interest of potential employees allowing them to expand locally. It also serves as an opportunity to capture data about local skill sets that are lacking and can be focused on for further develop.
The co-chairs of this committee, Gary Straquadine and Laren Huntsman (representing Emery County), both sit on the larger Community Economic Council. Straquadine represents the educational component and is currently the interim Chancellor of USU Eastern. Laren Huntsman is the Manager of the Hunter Power Plant and has a vested interest in identifying skills sets needed in today’s world and into the future. This mix of leadership allows the committee to operate with flexibility in attracting employees to our communities and helping to identify current skill gaps which can be addressed by the educational component.
“We have a great opportunity to design curriculums which can have a major, positive impact on our local area community,” Straquadine said. “We can work together with local area businesses to identify necessary skill sets for employment and work to develop that for our community.”
Laren Huntsman echoes that sentiment as a local leader. “We are looking to the future and how to position our employees to allow them to develop their skills and leadership abilities so they continue to grow and have opportunities available to them.”
This committee is open to all in Carbon County with an interest in helping to attract new employees as well as identifying how educational programs can impact skill set gaps and what type of programming would be beneficial for local constituents. This committee is one of the keys to improving our economic outlook and you are invited to join them as they work towards recruiting needed skill sets and developing programs to help those in our community who simply need educational opportunities to improve their skills to fill employment gaps we find in our community.
The Employee Recruitment and Development Committee is focused on creating opportunities to build a diversified economy for all of Carbon County and understands this effort will require teamwork and a united vision to move forward. As this effort moves forward, the hope is that citizens to get involved and help bring a bright future to all of Carbon County, creating an economy where our children and grandchildren can return home finding meaningful employment and raising their families.