Rural Opportunities Fair is kind of a Big Deal
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThe recruitment of talented youth is important to Neligh’s future. Over the past two years, the Neligh Economic Development Office has developed a strong relationship with several key leaders at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. This partnership led to Neligh being selected as one of 30 rural communities to attend a pilot program developed by the Rural Futures Institute. The pilot program, called the Rural Opportunities Fair, is designed to allow communities and students to build strong relationships that will mature into students relocating to said community.
The process is fairly simple but has never been attempted. In essence, it will work similar to a college fair, where students can mingle with rural communities throughout the mid-west to learn more about rural living and hopefully find their future home.
I was lucky enough to be part of a group of three who nurtured this from a hair brained idea to reality. It is the hope of the Rural Futures Institute that the Rural Opportunity Fair will be a scalable project which can be replicated at the high school and community college level. The entire mid-west is fighting to develop workforce. It has been a pleasure to work with an organization that is experimenting with innovative solutions to, in my opinion, the number one problem in Nebraska.
What we need from Neligh businesses: If you have current or future openings; if you have a future internship opportunity; or if you’d like to speak with a young entrepreneur about transitioning your business, the Economic Development Office would like to help. Please call 402-887-4447 or email Greg@Neligh.org before October 9th. The Opportunities Fair will take place the afternoon of October 21. If you or a representative of your business is interested in attending the fair on behalf of your business, please call Greg – limited space is available.