A software company is looking for a rural Minnesota city where it can expand, and Greater Jobs, Inc.

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

A software company is looking for a rural Minnesota city where it can expand, and Greater Jobs, Inc. wants Albert Lea to demonstrate its ability to fill the technology jobs that would be created.

Greater Jobs last week received a confidential request for information through the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development. The name of the company was not revealed, but the agency said it is looking for a city where it can hire 20 people over a two-year period with an average compensation package of $18, a figure that includes the cost of benefits, said Pam Bishop, executive vice president of Greater Jobs.

&uot;Right now, they’re probably considering any place that would comply with their needs for personnel and buildings,&uot; Bishop said.

Greater Jobs is asking qualified residents to submit resumes, which the organization will then forward to the state agency for review by the company, Bishop said. Having a labor pool with the needed skills would be crucial for any city looking to attract such a company, she said.

The company’s immediate needs would include a Microsoft-certified engineer to begin the operations here, as well as Web developers. Skills needed include familiarity with Java, Java Script, SourceSafe, Windows 2000, html, asp, and SQL server 7.0 xml.

&uot;These are the kinds of companies we want to begin growing in Albert Lea,&uot; Bishop said.

Greater Jobs must respond by the end of the business day Friday.

The request most likely went out to all rural cities in the state of a size appropriate for the company, Bishop said.

Beyond immediate labor pool, Bishop said technical programs at Riverland Community College, available space in the soon-to-open Albert Lea Business Development Center and elsewhere, and the possibility of adding high-speed Internet lines could be crucial points in selling Albert Lea to the company.

Bishop said she will submit the city’s package then make contact with the agency next week to see if the city ends up on the company’s list of finalists.

&uot;We have no idea if this will happen or not, so I certainly don’t want to get any hopes up too much,&uot; Bishop said.

The agency gets many requests from DTED, but most are more specific than this one, she said. Sometimes, the confidential inquiries use newspaper ads to solicit resumes, but it can be hard to get a response to blind advertisements, Bishop said.

To submit a resume, e-mail it to pkbishop@albertlea.org, fax to (507) 379-3333 or drop it off at Greater Jobs, room 124A at Riverland Community College.

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