Aberdeen Company Optimistic About Jobs Plan

ABERDEEN, SD - With a need for more professionals and technicians in the state, Governor Dennis Daugaard is proposing an initiative to meet that need.

It's called South Dakota Workforce Initiatives and includes training and recruiting employees that companies in the state desperately need.

On the north edge of Aberdeen, Molded Fiber Glass is one of several companies that has been fighting for workers.

"It's very difficult," human resource manager Rebecca Duke said.

The company has various incentives in place ranging from profit sharing to education assistance. Still, the company has been struggling to fill its needs in the employee-friendly market.

That's why Molded Fiber Glass is planning to take part in the South Dakota Workforce Initiatives. Leaders at the company provided input to the governor's office for the proposal. The company is planning to hire several additional people this year.

"It would help us to get people here. It would help with not just the training but the recruitment," Duke said.

The governor's proposing additional training for skilled jobs, sending almost a million dollars of community block grants toward workforce training. He also wants to bring native South Dakotans back through an expansion of the Dakota Roots program and recruit from other states through workforce recruiter Manpower.
As part of the plan, the governor also wants South Dakotans to get first dibs at the available jobs. Those at Molded Fiberglass are optimistic about the initiative.

"It would be a win/win benefit to everyone," Duke said.

Other portions of the initiative include preparing children for these needed career fields through various methods including camps. It would also promote rural health care by expanding the medical school and the tuition reimbursement program.