701-566-9300Recently, the GNDC held their day-long discussion on the burning issues affecting our state’s businesses. By far and for the last few years at least, the biggest of these is the workforce shortage. It was the focus of each of the four major panels; Attracting Investment Strategies, Tourism from a Policy Standpoint, Utilizing Immigration as a Workforce Solution and Engaging Civic Leadership. Lt. Governor Tammy Miller was the keynote and highlighted what they have done to try to help. She mentioned their Childcare Assistance Program which provides $65 million to incentivize providers where infants and toddlers are concerned. If you had not considered this in terms of workforce, it is simply that parents who cannot find childcare are taken out of the workforce. The GNDC has long recognized this fact and worked to encourage lawmakers to help.
For this brief, I would say that the third panel had the most direct connection to finding a workforce solution, that of immigration. Mike Arntson, the plant manager of Cardinal Glass in Fargo, explained that his company is fully staffed due to no great plan, but simply that they hire the most highly qualified applicants. This in part, means that they take in folks regardless of any country, color or creed. News gets around and many immigrants have been steered to that company. Of course immigration is a hot topic and previous North Dakota Lt. Governor was Brent Sanford who is now working to bring Ukrainians to the state. It was said that this effort expects to see 37 Ukrainians employed in 16 companies by the middle of this month. When I worked on the farm, migrants were housed on the property for summer months to hoe/weed and we labored with them. Mechanization has mitigated some of the need for labor, but many of you producers still need helpers as much as any other North Dakota industry.
