BY KEN FRANCIS, Staff Writer
Central Minnesota Jobs & Training Services (CMJTS) has been an integral part of the community for many years.
The organization has brought businesses and job seekers together to the benefit of both parties.
Last week, program manager Leslie Wojtowicz spoke about some of the events and programs CMJTS offers during the annual report to the Sherburne County Board.
She said one of the events was a sector-specific job fair for the retail industry held at the Monticello Workforce Center.
Business representatives spoke with job seekers about the many types of retail positions available in that sector, and they conducted interviews on the spot.
In addition, a panel of industry experts shared retail labor market information and statistics.
Wojtowicz said another program that benefits employers and workers is on-the-job training (OJT).
“Since January, we’ve written 20 OJTs, 10 in Sherburne County,” she told the board. “Manufacturing has been the biggest type of employer to take advantage of the on-the-job training program.”
A few of those businesses include Cherrywood Advanced Living, MPI, Majestic Creations, Northern Prairie Polymers, Cornerstone Automotive and Purpose Driven Restoration.
CMJTS also wrote and approved an incumbent working program for MPI to train five current employees at Bridgewater College.
Under that program, businesses cover 50% of the cost for training.
Last week’s report also came with a number of statistics about Sherburne County.
At the end of 2017, the unemployment rate in the county had fallen to 3.9% - the lowest since 2001.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, there were 1,932 firms in the county that employed 25,582 people.
Utilities paid the highest wage at $118,415, followed by finance and insurance ($61,437), construction ($58,777), wholesale trade ($57,800), manufacturing ($56,798) and professional and technical services ($53,214).
Most businesses were small. There were 1,240 firms with four of fewer employees. There were 336 businesses with five to nine employees, and 243 with 10 to 19 employees.
The report showed the fastest growing job sectors in the region through 2024 are expected to be healthcare and social assistance (23.5%), construction (18.3%), administrative support and waste management services (14.4%) and professional and technical services (12.3%).
