A Winning Strategy for High Paying Jobs in Rural Localities

Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting (SHEDC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new service that provides the potential for community revitalization and high paying job creation for rural areas and small towns. The three-step program is based on a concept developed in a published white paper  and focused on developing unused or underused buildings for recruitment of IT jobs.  IT jobs are in demand, high paying, and have high growth potential.  With a major shift in remote working, decentralization of workforce by companies and the inability of IT companies to find enough employees in their home geographic area, developing an IT job recruitment strategy offers a “game changing” opportunity for rural areas which are often challenged in regular economic development recruitment efforts.

The three steps of the program, which can be implemented sequentially as one project, or as three individual projects are:

Community Evaluation

Does the community have the assets required to host an IT operation?

Project Development

What specific buildings and physical assets are available for the housing of IT workers and what are the programming and costs to revitalize the selected building and to upgrade or install support infrastructure for an IT operation?

IT Job Recruitment

SHEDC can provide recruitment services to attract IT workers into a shared space or space dedicated to the housing of a single IT company's decentralized workers with a flexible fee structure of either a traditional arrangement or one based on the number of jobs announced.

A revitalized building can not only be used for housing remote IT workers but can serve as a base for developing entrepreneurs and for stimulating development of additional community assets, such as restaurants, coffee shops and other services in support of the IT and entrepreneur workforce.  This service may qualify for funding under the American Rescue Plan programs or other public funding programs intended for community and/or workforce development.

For more information on how this winning strategy might fit with your community, contact David W. Denny, Managing Partner at (540) 392-3321;  ddenny@SHEDC.com