Press Kit
White Mountains chambers and asssociations work together on workforce & housing campaign
News from the White Mountains – October 19, 2020
Contact: Janice Crawford, Janice@mtwashingtonvalley.org , 603-662-9701 or Kathleen Flammia, jacksonnhlodging@gmail.com, 603-383-9356
WHITE MOUNTAINS CHAMBERS & ASSOCIATIONS COLLABORATE ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & HOUSING NEEDED CAMPAIGN
North Conway, NH – Long before the pandemic, businesses in the White Mountains have struggled with limited workforce availability for the jobs available. Yet once coupled with complications from Covid, the situation has worsened with workers needing to stay home to home school children, and those who’d rather avoid contact with the public. Add to that no approval of J-1 visas for international students – formerly offering a willing and motivated employment pool – and the workforce availability situation for businesses throughout the White Mountains is reaching a critical level. This is why the six chambers representing the White Mountains region are collaborating with Ski New Hampshire and the White Mountain Attractions Association to identify new workforce markets.
The objective of this Workforce Collaborative is to identify potential recruitment tools and workforce resources for the Fall and Winter seasons. Next, the plan is to develop those tools to increase the number of applications the business community in the White Mountains can consider for part-time, full-time, year-round and seasonal employment. In addition, the collaborative will develop and communicate the “NH Advantage” experience to motivate new recruits to come to NH for an employment opportunity. The collaborative group will step outside the box to develop relationships with recruiting sources such as:
- Trimen Work Solutions and other recruiting companies
- State Office of Employment Services in the New England States
- Higher Education Institutes that are closing their campuses for remote learning or offering such a reduced campus program that students will opt to save the room and board expense and live with parents to continue their education.
- Institutions offering Work-Study or Internship programs.
- AmeriCorps
The work of the collaborative campaign has already gotten underway. The group has been contacted by students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who are remotely learning and seeking jobs in the White Mountains. Housing is being sought for these students in local homes, much like traditional exchange students. (Those interested in offering housing are asked to contact Janice Crawford at Janice@mtwashingtonvalley.org.)
In addition, a full assessment of the jobs available for the winter and beyond is presently being compiled. All those with jobs to fill in late fall, winter and beyond are asked to complete and submit a form to develop a central portal of available positions for job seekers.
Kathleen Flammia of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce and Janice Crawford of the Mt Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce are spearheading the Workforce Collaborative & Housing Needed Campaign. Please EMAIL KATHLEEN (jacksonnhlodging@gmail.com) for the form you will use to enter each and every position you have the need to fill for the job portal. Then, you are asked to email the completed form to covidrecruit@nhes.nh.gov and they will do the rest.
This new collaborative on workforce development is being funded by a special grant program called the Chamber of Commerce Partnership Assistance Fund, created to reward collaborative efforts among chambers that were ineligible for CARES Act funding. The fund is being administered via the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR).
To learn more about each chambers’ involvement contact any of the participating members listed below.
White Mountains Attractions Association
Mt Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce
Franconia Notch Regional Chamber of Commerce
Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce
Littleton Area Chamber of Commerce
Western White Mountains Chamber of Commerce
Twin Mountain-Bretton Woods Chamber of Commerce
For questions about the Workforce Development and Housing Needed campaign, contact administrator of this collaborative, Janice Crawford at Janice@mtwashingtonvalley.org or Kathleen Flammia at jacksonnhlodging@gmail.com.
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