 Comcast Adding 400 Jobs in St. Paul
Minneapolis Star Tribune-11/16/15
Comcast Corp. will add 400 jobs at its customer service center in St. Paul next year, boosting its existing staff of 2,000 people in the Twin Cities. The company said it would apply for job creation incentives offered by DEED. It is eligible for up to $1 million from the Minnesota Investment Fund and up to $400,000 from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership.
Bringing Broadband to Rural Minnesota
Finance and Commerce-11/20/15
More than two dozen Greater Minnesota communities will split $11 million in state funding awarded Friday to increase broadband Internet access, a move that proponents hail as a key statewide economic development initiative. The latest round of broadband grants will improve high-speed broadband access for 3,222 households, 786 businesses and nearly 90 other community institutions, according to DEED. But it only goes part way toward addressing the need.
 Three college arboretums in Minnesota rank among the 10 most beautiful in the country, according to Best College Review. The arboretum at St. John's was rated third, Carleton College was fourth and the University of Minnesota was sixth.
|
 DEED Awards Broadband Funding Grants
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, above center, met last week with representatives from entities that were awarded $11 million to expand broadband in Greater Minnesota. The funding was awarded under DEED’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program, which Gov. Dayton signed into law in May 2014. The latest round of broadband grants will improve access to high-speed broadband for 3,222 households, 786 businesses and nearly 90 community institutions throughout the state.
Unemployment Rate Drops to 3.7 Percent
The Minnesota unemployment rate fell 0.1 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent, according to figures released by DEED last Thursday. The U.S. unemployment rate in October was 5 percent. The state lost 1,700 jobs in October, while September’s figures were revised from 5,700 jobs lost to 6,900 jobs lost.
DEED Awards Low-Income Training Grant
DEED awarded a $164,302 grant under the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership to train 48 low-income people in the Bemidji area. Participants will learn skills to fill health care positions, including home health aide, community health worker, medical coding specialist and certified nursing assistant. "This investment will provide those with barriers to employment, such as transportation and child care costs, the training they need to access living wage jobs,” Commissioner Sieben said.
A DEED program
called New Leaf is helping people with criminal backgrounds find work. New Leaf
classes provide an opportunity for participants to complete a personal skills
assessment; résumé and cover letter writing/re-targeting and polishing;
productive job search resources; success-focused interviewing; and job
retention skills. Star Tribune columnist Matt Krumrie recently wrote about this program when a reader asked how job seekers can overcome barriers to employment, such as a criminal record or drug or alcohol dependency. Read about it here.
|
