The work will be filling the 1,286 jobs that are available, said Brent Kisling, executive director of Enid Regional Development Alliance.
“The biggest challenge we face now is work force recruitment,” Kisling said.
Those nearly 1,300 jobs are ones companies have open and are having trouble filling. Kisling said with the area unemployment rate around 4 percent, filling those jobs is difficult.
“We spend a lot of time moving chess pieces on the board and will do more of it in 2012,” he said.
It’s just ‘oil play’
Most of the jobs are oil- and gas-related, with a need for about 800 drivers with commercial driver’s licenses. There also are openings for welders, machinists and painters.
The second challenge is keeping Enid’s per capita income up, Kisling said. Throughout the years, Enid’s per capita income has continued to creep upward, but significant jobs, such as those with Continental Resources, are leaving, he said, and it will be a challenge to replace high-paying jobs.
“We have a lot of jobs between $15 and $20 per hour, but trying to bring in those six-figure jobs is one of our challenges,” Kisling said. “A lot of those don’t come from new business. Our goal is helping companies with corporate headquarters or significant executive staffs in Enid to grow those staffs.”
Enid will benefit from the Mississippi oil play north of the city. Kisling said he believes that is where most of the new sales tax growth came from, with people receiving royalty payments, plus there are a lot of oil and gas companies in town.
“There are lots of trucks I haven’t seen before. That’s Enid benefiting from the oil play,” he said.
Winds of opportunity
Another big opportunity for Enid is the $400 million investment in the wind farms. Kisling said that investment will bring more than $2.5 million in royalties to area residents over the next 20 years. TradeWind Energy will build 150 wind turbines in Garfield and Grant counties, and they should begin spinning by December.
“TradeWind Energy will be the largest taxpayer in Garfield County,” Kisling said. “Next year, the top 10 stories will include TradeWind beginning operation. There are plenty of natural resources to collect royalty checks from in this part of the country.”
The electricity from the wind farm will go to Alabama, so the income comes from another state, Kisling said.
Kisling said there will be a big announcement regarding this, but he cannot reveal it yet.
Areas of growth are widespread
There also will be some businesses going through expansion, he said. There will be growth in the health care industry in Enid, which Kisling characterized as “big.”
Construction of the new control tower at Vance Air Force Base also will be done this year, and newly renovated Convention Hall will open. He said Enid Renaissance Project — the centerpiece of which is a new events center — will be an important improvement downtown.
“Everything going on downtown ties into the first challenge, work force recruitment,” Kisling said.
Many times on work force recruitment people find a place to live, then find a job, he said.
“The downtown investment will make my job easier,” he said
[Read More...]