Press Release - Gov. Rounds Announces Workforce Development Partnership
Press Release - Gov. Rounds Announces Workforce Development Partnership
Dakota Roots reaches out to South Dakotans who want to come home
Gov. Mike Rounds, along with business and academic leaders from throughout the state unveiled Dakota Roots, a workforce development initiative aimed at South Dakotans who are interested in moving back to the state and citizens looking for new career opportunities.
"The Dakota Roots initiative is all about reaching out to South Dakotans who live in other states and current citizens who want to take advantage of our robust economy and the great quality of life," said the governor on the announcement. "We must do all we can to encourage talent to come back home. Through our partnership with some of the state's most progressive businesses, we believe that the Dakota Roots initiative will provide another workforce recruiting tool for those who want to make South Dakota home. It's a win-win situation," the governor said.
Completely confidential, this is not a typical job search website - an individual's name will never be provided to potential employers. Instead, Dakota Roots will match participants with career openings available from the state's leading businesses. Participants will be notified when openings are appropriate to their skills. If interested, the participants can pursue the openings directly with the businesses.
Dakota Roots is a joint venture between the Department of Labor, the Department of Tourism and State Development and the Governor's Office. "This really is an extension of our SDWorks program," said Pam Roberts, secretary, Department of Labor. "We are already working with more than 40,000 South Dakota businesses to find quality employees. This initiative takes those efforts to the next level by expanding our marketing base," she said.
Richard Benda, secretary, Department of Tourism and State Development said the time is right for this new initiative. "We've all heard the governor say that workforce development is a critical issue for economic development; our state's businesses are saying that workforce development is a major issue. Dakota Roots will help us in recruiting new and expanding businesses by alleviating their concerns about workforce availability in South Dakota," he said.
http://www.state.sd.us/governor/