Wyoming’s Department of Workforce Services has unveiled a new program intended to bring former residents back to the state to live and work. Called Wyoming Grown, it allows family members or friends of someone living out of state to refer them the Department of Workforce Services, who will attempt to recruit them back to Wyoming to fill a job.
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead says a number of employers in the state have difficulty keeping positions filled. He believes former residents might be more inclined to appreciate the state. Mead says they want to tell former residents that things are good in Wyoming.
“For the young woman who lives in Kansas who left here eight years ago, they may not be aware we have this great tax structure here in Wyoming, they may not be aware that we are diversifying our economy through technology, they may not be aware how we’re seeking to improve education.”
State Workforce Services Director Joan Evans says her office will recruit those who appear on the website wyominggrown.org. She says they will focus on the benefits of Wyoming.
“You know if you had a couple of extra hours a day and you weren’t commuting what would you do with that. Our tax structure is really nice, so if you had a few extra dollars what would you do with that? And really trying to play on the things that Wyoming offers that maybe wasn’t such a good deal as people thought when they originally left the state.”
Evans says South Dakota has had a lot of success with a similar program.