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Employee Recruitment & Development
Greater Mankato Growth is happy to help your organization with your recruitment and retention needs. We have collected the following recruitment & retention resources as well as opportunities for one-on-one support from Greater Mankato Growth Staff. Talent support services are provided for free to businesses and organizations located in Blue Earth and Nicollet County through the support of the Regional Economic Development Alliance (REDA) and to chamber members outside the region through matching dollars committed by the business community.
Organizations with Specialized Hiring Support
New American, Refugee, and Asylee Support Services
Both MRCI* and the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) can assist your business in recruiting and retaining individuals from the New American, refugee, and asylee community. These organizations will learn your job needs, perform initial coaching with individuals who may have English language difficulties, and can assist with identifying bilingual individuals who can lead those without current workplace English fluency.
To learn more about MRCI's County Employment Services, head to: Employer Services (countyemploymentservices.org)
*Note: In addition to working with individuals from these communities, MRCI's employment services works with a multitude of other individuals seeking county employment services.
To learn more about MCC's Refugee Services, head to: Mankato Area Services | Minnesota Council of Churches (mnchurches.org)
Disability Support Services
Both MRCI and EON provide services that can help employers recruit individuals with some level of disability. Disability ranges widely between individuals and can include anything from physical disabilities to mental health disabilities including ADHD. Prior to placement, a job coach will typically learn the skills & training required for the position and ensure that the skills match the capabilities of a potential employee. New strategies for hiring individuals with disabilities include "job carving" where tasks appropriate for the disabled worker are carved out of an existing job, freeing the existing employee to spend more time on tasks requiring higher skill. Additionally, companies can work with the Disability Employment Specialists with the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED).
To learn more about MRCI's Workforce Solutions, head to: EMPLOYERS | MRCI (mymrci.org)
To learn more about EON, contact them via: Employment Services (theeon.com)
To learn more about DEED's resources for hiring individuals with disabilities, head to: Hiring People with Disabilities / Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (mn.gov)
Staffing Agencies
Most regional staffing agencies provide direct hire recruitment, temporary-to-hire recruitment, and temporary recruitment services. Working with a staffing agency can be a great way to supplement hiring efforts whether your workforce needs fluctuate, you have a specific highly-skilled position to fill, or if you are struggling to recruit & retain talent in general.
A list of staffing agencies serving the Greater Mankato Area can be found here: Greater Mankato Employment Agencies and Resources
Job Posting Websites
There are several tools available to advertise your open positions.
Indeed (Free posting opportunities)
Facebook Job Posting (Free posting opportunities)
LinkedIn
ZipRecruiter (Paid postings are shared among 100+ job sites including Google Jobs)
Minnesotaworks.net (Free posting Opportunities)
The Free Press Classifieds/Monster.com
Minnesota State University, Mankato - Handshake (Free posting opportunities)
Rasmussen College Jobs
South Central College Jobs
Career Builder
Educational Institutions
Mankato Area Public Schools has put together a list of 12 different opportunities for employers to partner with the District. Employers can share their interest by filling out this form.
Staff Training Services
In addition to their traditional credit programs, South Central College and Minnesota State University, Mankato both work directly with employers to provide customized training programs. These services can help organizations train new staff, upskill existing staff, and provide necessary leadership skills for employees who have been promoted beyond their original production roles.
South Central College provides these services through the Center for Business & Industry: Center for Business & Industry | Workforce (southcentral.edu)
Minnesota State University, Mankato provides these services through the Center for Workforce Professional Education: Center for Workforce Professional Education | Minnesota State University, Mankato (mnsu.edu)
State Resources
DEED and the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry provide the following programs that can assist with the training and development of new or existing talent. Most of these are used in conjunction with the services provided by the educational institutions listed above.
The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program (MJSP) partners with businesses and schools to train or retrain workers, expand opportunities, and keep high-quality jobs in the state. Grants of up to $400,000 are awarded to educational institutions that partner with businesses to develop new-job training or retraining for existing employees. Businesses can partner with educational institutions to apply for funding for specific training projects.
The Automation Training Incentive Program provides grants of up to $25,000 to small businesses in the manufacturing or skilled production industry for the express purpose of training incumbent workers as quickly and effectively as possible on new automation technology.
The Dual-Training Pipeline Program exists to support employers in creating or enhancing a competency-based dual-training approach where workers receive a combination of related instruction strategically paired with on-the-job training. Instruction from a post-secondary institution can be covered by grants of up to $6,000 per individual in the program and a maximum of $150,000 per organization.
The Scitechsperience Internship Program is a paid internship that connects college students in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines with hands-on opportunities at Minnesota companies. The focus is on strengthening Minnesota's STEM industries and developing an experienced and well-trained workforce. Employers can receive a 50% match on wages paid to interns up to $2,500.
Workforce Strategy Consultants are representatives of DEED who partner with employers in key industry sectors to discuss innovative solutions to workforce challenges. Your workforce strategy consultant can help advise on your organization's eligibility for the programs above and advise on which program may be the best for your organization.
Greater Mankato Growth Support
Data Support
Greater Mankato Growth staff are happy to support your organization by providing data to supplement your recruitment strategies. Greater Mankato Growth can provide data on wage data, demographics, and employment & unemployment trends in our region. GMG can share data on hiring trends in our region including the job posting categories with the highest demand, the education requirements of regional job openings, and skill requirements of those job postings.
Strategic Support
Greater Mankato Growth Staff will meet with employers to discuss existing recruitment & retention strategies. Greater Mankato Growth staff can meet with an organization to discuss existing recruitment & retention strategies and identify potential gaps. Staff can then discuss potential solutions including reviewing job postings/where they are posted and making comparisons between an organization's postings and those of similar employers located outside of our region. Staff can also discuss potential training & retention opportunities. Finally, Greater Mankato Growth staff can help identify the appropriate external partners for an organization and provide introductions to those partners.
To request data for your organization or to request one-on-one support contact Ryan Vesey at rvesey@greatermankato.com.
