Editor's note: This story is advertorial content as part of the 2023 Jamestown Sun Progress Edition on "Business, Workforce, Retention."
JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. has launched programs in the last couple of years to help solve the workforce shortage.
The JSDC launched its Intern Reimbursement Program in 2021 to help increase the number of local internships and assist Stutsman County employers in workforce recruitment and retention. The JSDC received the 21st Century Workforce Award in October during the Main Street ND Summit for the innovation and forward thinking in addressing its community’s workforce shortage.
Corry Shevlin, CEO of JSDC, said the program has been successful. He said a majority of the students who participated in the program stayed in the community afterward.
“Our goal is to try and create those relationships between potential college students coming in and getting familiar with our community and how it operates,” he said.
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The Internship Reimbursement Program is designed to increase the number of local internships and assist employers in Stutsman County in workforce recruitment and retention, according to the JSDC’s program guidelines. The program contributes up to $3,500 to reimburse employers that hire university/college students to assist in the payroll costs. The program is open to students from technical colleges.
The program requires Stutsman County employers to pay interns at least $15 per hour. There are three funding rounds — one for summer interns, another for the fall semester and one for the spring semester — for the Internship Reimbursement Program.
The JSDC recently launched the Daycare Expansion Assistance Program that helps new child care startups and existing remodeling projects increase capacity. Shevlin said the JSDC understands that day care is an important piece to help find solutions to help address the workforce shortage.
If we can have more spaces open for kids and have their parents out in the workforce, I think that helps everybody. Having affordable and accessible day care is important for every community.
If reliable day care is available for everybody, more individuals are available in the workforce, he said. He said the day care availability is important and that’s what the program is hoping to improve.
Shevlin said the JSDC will review the Daycare Expansion Assistance Program at the end of the year.
“If there are changes that need to be made or if we find that there is not a need, we will move in a different direction but I think we will find that there is,” he said.
The pilot program is a 1-to-1 match and cannot exceed $10,000 in matching funds, according to JSDC’s guidelines and terms and conditions. The funds can be used for fixtures, furniture, equipment and construction-related costs.
Approval will be required prior to the start date of the project. All receipts must be submitted before reimbursement.
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The project must be a licensed child care facility or be in the process of getting licensed through the state of North Dakota. Providers who receive funding must remain in operation for a minimum of two years from the application date, and failure to do so will result in a prorated return of grant dollars to the JSDC.
For more information about JSDC, visit www.growingjamestown.com.
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