Governor Scott Walker
Governor Scott Walker is calling for a national marketing campaign designed to attract talented young workers and military veterans to come to Wisconsin.
The governor on Wednesday proposed a $6.8 million effort to build the state’s workforce with people currently living outside its borders. “We need to go beyond our borders to attract and then, in turn, retain more talent in the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said during a speech at a Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce event in Madison.
The campaign would be a joint effort between the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and Travel Wisconsin. It would focus on highlighting lower housing costs and shorter commutes to millennials, while touting the services available to veterans. “These are people who are well trained, well disciplined, well focused, who’ve got tremendous skills and abilities – this is a prime market for us,” Walker argued.
The effort is aimed in part at helping attract the workforce needed to help Foxconn staff a massive LCD factory it plans to build in Racine County, which the company says could eventually employ up to 13,000 workers. However, Walker argued that other industries would also benefit from the investment, whether they are directly tied to Foxconn or not.
Walker wants lawmakers to approve funding for the campaign before the end of the session.