Back in May, I attended a Utah Technology Council Roundtable with Governor Huntsman.

At the end of that session, right as the Governor was leaving, I interrupted and asked the pressing question that a lot of the CEOs in the room had on their minds: how do we get more talented and experienced employees to Utah? With unemployment rates in Utah so low, and business growth in Utah so hot, it’s a recipe for supply/demand problems.

At the time I suggested the idea of a coalition of Utah technology companies (through an organization like the Utah Technology Council) working with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development on a campaign to spread the good word about all the job opportunities in Utah ands our unique lifestyle and quality of life to the world in order to attract talent to Utah.

I suggested we brand the effort Work Elevated. A play off of Utah’s Office of Tourism Life Elevated campaign.

Well, they got most of it right. The smaller print on the ad says:

Ranked the “Most Dynamic Economy” in the United States by the Kaufmann Foundation and the second “Best State for Business” by Forbes Magazine, it’s no wonder we’re looking for engineers and other talented professionals and companies to join Utah in going to the next level. The scenery’s not bad either. Call 1-801-538-8743 for information or email your resume to resumes@utah.gov

And the email I received from Richard Nelson (President and CEO, Utah Technology Council) and Jason Perry (Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Economic Development) said the following:

Dear Utah Employer,

The Utah Technology Council has partnered with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to tackle one of the most important issues facing our economy.
With the State of Utah at full-employment a major talent recruiting initiative has been developed in order to head off any potential labor shortage that could widely impact Utah’s employers.

At the request of Governor Jon Huntsman, GOED has formed an action group made up of key representatives from the private sector, government and education to develop and implement a national talent recruitment effort, beginning first in the fields of engineering and then other needed professionals.

The UTC and GOED have committed to help resolve this issue by launching an important program that seeks to recruit talent to Utah.

This effort will include among other things:

• A national marketing campaign highlighting Utah’s quality of life and encouraging potential employees to relocate and be a part of Utah’s great economy. One such ad placement will be featured on Sunday, October 28, 2007 in 14 major metropolitan areas and will be seen by an estimated 3.1 million readers.
• Attendance by the State of Utah in partnership with private industry to recruitment tradeshows nationwide.

Those interested in working in Utah, will be invited to submit resumes to the talent recruitment task force. All firms that would like to participate in the Utah Recruitment Initiative and receive resumes from GOED’s efforts will need to file a participation agreement that can be found at www.goed.utah.gov or requested by calling 801.538.8743.

Employers choosing to join this effort will receive, on a weekly basis, an email of all resumes submitted during that week.

Join this effort now by submitting this Participation Agreement, or please forward this request to the appropriate individuals if your department is not actively involved in recruitment.

We anticipate hundreds of resume submissions and inquiries from professionals all across America beginning with the October 28th advertisement.

Can I just say that it’s totally awesome that it’s only been 4 months since this idea was suggested and it’s already being put into practice! Goes against everything I’ve come to assume about trade organizations and government. Go UTC! Go Governor Huntsman!

I will keep working with the UTC in whatever part I can to help out with these efforts. My original thought in suggesting the idea was that Doba and other tech companies can and will do direct recruiting for specific job openings. But general awareness campaigns like this are perfect for trade organizations and governments to push and help with positive foundations around the country to support and heighten the more specific efforts.