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Business groups commit to donate $ 30,000 to
Plan to stay campaign
Washington Director of Community and Economic Development Sal Maniaci and the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce have received four offers from agencies for a draft plan to attract more workers to Washington.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a labor shortage for many communities, but according to Maniaci, for Washington, it has exacerbated problems that existed before 2020. Figures from the mid-census in 2015 painted a picture scary for the room, he said, because it was crowded. growth in all age groups except 0-9 years. Maniaci said the chamber feared the city might not have the people to fill jobs as more manufacturers and commercial businesses filled the city’s industrial parks.
He said that with fewer students in trade schools, there is a smaller pool for manufacturers, and now the shortage has caused problems for the service and restaurant industries. The marketing plan, whose slogan is “plan to stay”, should increase this pool.
“As a business liaison person, I think it’s important to let all businesses know that we know there is a manpower issue and that we are trying to do something,†said declared Maniaci.
The four offers came from the Missourian Media Group, Washington; the Timmermann Group, of Saint-Louis; Jajo, from Saint-Louis; and Spectrum Reach Advertising, which has offices covering 94 different television markets in 27 states.
According to his website, Timmermann has clients, including Lutheran Senior Services, Club Fitness and the City of Perryville, who recently launched a campaign to encourage workers who can work remotely to relocate to the southeastern Missouri city. of 8,200 inhabitants, north of Cape Girardeau by 37 miles.
On Tuesday, Maniaci said he and the chamber would hold interviews with the candidates, with the aim of having one selected by mid-November and announcements aired by December.
Much of the legwork for the campaign has been completed, Maniaci said. A website for the campaign has been completed and promotional videos have been shot and edited, so companies would primarily determine a strategy for disseminating the information.
Strategies to consider include a plan to target Midwestern communities with high unemployment rates or cities with tech schools and community colleges, according to Maniaci. He said rapidly growing cities could also be targeted because of their high cost of living.
“Our workforce here locally has a high concentration of manufacturing jobs and skilled labor, more than double the state average,†Maniaci said. “So we would like to target areas that have a lot of tech school graduates for skilled workers. “
The $ 30,000 that will be spent on the project comes mostly from donors, Maniaci said. The Washington Civic Industrial Corp. and the Industrial Development Authority each contributed $ 9,000, and the young chamber professionals added two years of funds raised from Fake Paddy’s Day pub tours, for a total of approximately $ 4,000. The rest comes from Maniaci’s 2020 and 2021 marketing budgets, and he said he hopes that once a company is selected, Washington companies will add their own contributions.
Companies with the greatest number of employees here, including Frick’s Quality Meats, WEG Manufacturing and Melton, also have the greatest employment needs, Maniaci said, so once a company is selected, he and the young professionals plan to apply for more funding for the plan. .
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