Corporate Recruitment, International Trade and Diplomacy, Talent Ready Utah

Teams

Ben Hart | Deputy Director 801-538-8799 | bhart@utah.gov

Corporate Recruitment, International Trade and Diplomacy, Talent Ready Utah

GOED’s Corporate Recruitment program accelerates business growth and job creation through sustainable, targeted domestic and international corporate expansions and relocations organized by industry. Financial incentives are available for select companies that create new, high-paying jobs to help improve the standard of living, increase the tax base, attract and retain top-level management, and diversify the state economy. Talent Ready Utah plays a vital role in these expansions and relocations by helping companies find and develop the qualified workforce they need.

Achievements

The Corporate Recruitment, International Trade and Diplomacy, and Talent Ready Utah teams saw significant progress on critical initiatives this year, each focused on economic growth throughout Utah in strategic areas. As the team works together with Utah businesses to generate job growth, align with foreign markets, and convene stakeholders to facilitate and foster a more robust labor force, lasting impacts are being made throughout the state.

The Economic Development Tax Incremental Financing (EDTIF) program set new program records for jobs, capital investment, new state revenue, and new state wages. Large expansion projects from companies including Northrop Grumman, Qualtrics, Intermountain Electronics, and Malouf will be economic anchors for areas along the Wasatch Front and in rural parts of the state. Utah is already recognized as having the country’s most diverse economy (source: Hachman Index). But these projects, along with others committed to Utah in the past year, will further strengthen the state’s economic diversity. This year’s corporate recruitment efforts will help provide job opportunities for Utahns and economic growth for the state for decades to come.

Talent Ready Utah has been instrumental in building our workforce by training individuals with the skills they need to get back into the workplace. Through the Learn & Work In Utah program, a partnership with the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) funded partly by the CARES Act, Talent Ready Utah provided short-term training programs aligned with in-demand needs.

The Utah Works program has also provided short-term training to companies experiencing a significant hiring demand. Stadler Rail, Northrop Grumman, and Albany Engineered Composites are just a few of the companies that have taken advantage of this initiative. Career pathways are expanding and developing across the state, and youth apprenticeships are another proven method to fill workforce demand. Talent Ready Utah has also worked with the Legislature to rebuild the Utah Futures online platform to provide career guidance for K-12 students as well as adults.

The reporting requirement data for the Utah Works Program is as follows: 180 started the programs, 174 completed and were hired by companies located in Salt Lake County (Salt Lake Community College), Davis County (Davis Tech College), and Weber County (Ogden Weber Technical College). Of the students who completed the program, 96% were hired by participating companies.