“Help wanted.”
The signs are everywhere and seem to be a permanent part of many store windows. Even in what used to be the “shoulder season,” which is becoming increasingly busier as the popularity of the county grows, help wanted signs can be found.
Despite the signs and advertisements run locally and regionally, a common complaint heard is, “No matter what I try, I can’t find enough help.”
But that might change.
Spearheaded by the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, some of Cook County’s biggest employers have begun a quest to solve the endless dilemma of recruiting enough employees to fill openings when the area is busy.
With the political uncertainty surrounding J1 and H2B visa programs, it’s not always a certainty that foreign workers will be available, so a “Plan B” is in the works.
Last fall an effort began to recruit from the tens of thousands of hospitality workers from Puerto Rico that had lost their jobs in the wake of the devastation following Hurricane Maria.
Although there was some initial success, a more sophisticated approach was begun this summer when the Chamber hooked up with Taney County Partnership of Branson, Missouri, which helped bring several hundred Puerto Rican workers to the Branson area. For a fee, the partnership agreed to allow three people from Cook County to shadow their recruiting activities in Puerto Rico this past August. Accompanying the partnership was EDA director Mary Somnis, Brian Sherburne of Grand Portage Lodge & Casino and Eric Witzig of Bluefin Bay.
Now that all three are back they hope to build on their experience and develop a Chamber-run, nonprofit workforce recruitment agency that will provide, most likely, a fee-for-service for all Chamber members who need help finding employees.
The first phase will focus on recruiting workers who worked in the hospitality industry, while it is hoped that the program will grow to include worker recruitment to fill other occupational openings in the community.
Culinary Arts
The Chamber is also working with the I.S.D. 166, Cook County Higher Education, Hibbing Community College and the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) to bring North Shore Culinary, a degreed culinary arts program that will leave graduating students with little or no debt when they complete their course work.
The high school is in the process of completing a new culinary arts wing that has state-of-theart equipment. Hibbing Community College is in the process of looking to hire an instructor for the classes slated to start in January 2019.
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