Jamestown has no shortage of jobs

Opportunities are available in Jamestown to begin or grow your career. That’s the overriding message after learning about some of our manufacturing and other businesses featured in The Jamestown Sun’s annual Progress Edition .

This year’s edition focuses on “Business, Workforce, Retention.”

Jamestown is home to a number of manufacturing and other companies providing products to customers far outside of the city’s borders, on a national and global scale. Most, if not all, are looking for employees and they’re willing to train for many of the positions. Many of these businesses have advancement opportunities as well. For people looking for opportunities, they are out there in abundance.

But challenges still remain to find those employees.

Jamestown’s labor shortage isn’t unusual. Workers are needed in North Dakota and nationwide. Wages have risen but people aren’t only working for the paycheck. Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce leaders say it’s also about having opportunities for personal growth and feeling connected to the community.

Community stakeholders, such as the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp., have been working to address the workforce challenges in the area. Other challenges include adequate housing in the Stutsman County area and the need for more child care.

Jamestown Parks and Recreation is gathering input from the community and conducting in-depth planning to determine what the community wants in the future. A community not only needs good-paying jobs but ways for its residents to relax, be entertained and spend quality time with others as well.

There are also planned projects that will add to residents’ quality of life that can be attractive to people outside of our community. The Arts Center is planning an expansion that will help fill the increased demand for children’s programming. Jamestown Parks and Recreation, Jamestown Area Youth Baseball Association, Outlaw Fastpitch Softball, Blue Jays and University of Jamestown are partnering on a project to renovate the youth complex and Jack Brown Stadium at McElroy Park. Both will be positive additions to Jamestown.

While the workforce challenges remain, there are efforts to ease those challenges through a variety of groups and organizations from business to nonprofits.

Collectively, we hope those efforts are able to attract more workers and encourage young people to stay and grow into their careers in the Jamestown area.

Editorials are the opinion of Jamestown Sun management and the editorial board.