DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy joined Cristina Uriarte, minister for education, linguistic policy and culture for the Basque Government of Spain, during a signing ceremony at DEED last Thursday. The Basque Government and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation in the areas of education and research. 

In the News

Faribault Foods Finds Niche in Beans
Minneapolis Star Tribune-4/30/16
Beans rule at the Faribault Foods cannery. Black, pinto, navy, kidney — if it’s a dried bean, Faribault cans it. And the plant will be churning out a lot more beans as it undertakes a $100 million-plus expansion. The leap forward stems from the 2014 acquisition of Faribault Foods by La Costeña. One of Mexico’s largest canned food companies, La Costeña wants to make a bigger mark in the United States, and it’s using Faribault Foods to pave the way.

Austin Career Fair Draws Students
KROC-TV-4/28/16
DEED teamed up with Riverland Community College to sponsor a career fair for students in Austin last week. "Career Exploration: Steam Ahead into Your Future" was held at the Holiday Inn Conference Center. About 1,000 eighth-graders from 11 schools attended the event.

Recent Blog Posts

MinnesotaWorks.net, has a special feature to help military veterans connect with employers. It's called the veteran-friendly job posting. Read more here.

Recent Press Releases

FAST Global Wins Job Training Support
DEED awarded Alexandria Technical and Community College a $254,094 grant under the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership to train 405 employees of FAST Global Solutions. In the three-year project, FAST employees will receive training in leadership, process development, human resources software, welding and other skills.

Serving Our Clients

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith greeted Swiss Ambassador Andre Schaller during a visit to Minnesota last Tuesday. The ambassador's visit included a meeting at DEED with the Minnesota Trade Office. The meeting featured high-level discussions on apprenticeship programs, workforce and trade. Kathleen Motzenbecker, executive director of the Trade Office, said the conversation helped advance the state's trade relationship with Switzerland.

Did You Know?

Minnesota has the highest labor force participation rate in the country at 71.2 percent. The labor force participation rate refers to the percentage of people who are either employed or actively looking for work. Go to DEED's Statistical Snapshot to see where Minnesota ranks in other key economic measures.