6.3 EDSR 05-16-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Elk River Project Sportech seeks to hire local high school graduates,partnering with educational institutions to match students with employment opportunities.They created an internship program in 2013 hiring their first mechanical engineering intern that year. Sportech targets 3-5 universities each year,and attends various engineering and career expos to attract top talent. 4. Is this project replicable or transferable?Can it be adapted for use in other communities? What lessons have been learned? Sportech incorporated public financing at the local,county,state,and workforce training grants as part of their project.Other communities offer various funding resources and incentives. Depending on each state and unit of government,there could potentially be a combination of funding compiled into the implementation of a similar or a more customized type of project. The single greatest lesson concerning the project was developing clear lines of communication and the strong relationships between the city,county,and the Sportech team.The importance of Business Retention and Expansion visits are extremely critical to future expansion planning,and in determining long term visions and goals of local businesses. The Sportech project aided in building essential partnerships with various entities,who all worked together in order to keep an innovative business in Elk River. Sportech has been a long standing, community-oriented business.This project specifically emphasizes the value of building strong and sustainable communities through innovative strategies,tools and techniques to assist in the retention of a local and committed company. 5. Who are the participants in this project?What roles did they take in planning/implementation?Who is affected? • The City of Elk River and Sherburne County supported the project through public financing in the form of property tax abatement. • Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development(DEED) awarded a Minnesota Job Skills Partnership grant totaling$300,000 to implement job training programs. • Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development(DEED) awarded Sportech with a$175,000 grant through the Anoka-Ramsey Community College to provide specialized training in company cultural development,train-the-trainer,cross training, coaching and mentoring,EPICOR,Thermo Plastics&Resins and continuous improvement • Decklan Group,Sportech's Consultant,coordinated all aspects of the application process and materials. • Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce coordinated photo and community opportunities, ground breaking activities,ribbon cutting ceremonies and an open house event. 6. In what ways is this project innovative or creative? Mr. Carlson also owns and operates ERX Motor Park,an all-season motorsports facility located in Elk River featuring winter season full-service grassroots and regional snocross racing events and training on its massive,professionally-constructed and maintained snocross track,which is nationally 7