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Find the Good Life In North Dakota Job Fair

Representatives from the Find the Good Life in North Dakota workforce recruitment initiative will attend the RecruitMilitary All Veterans Job Fair at the Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on Thurs., Sept. 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find the Good Life in North Dakota's goal is to connect at least 10,000 transitioning military with new careers in North Dakota's civilian job market.

According to the latest Online Job Openings Report from Job Service North Dakota, the state has more than 25,000 available jobs. Although North Dakota often receives media attention due to the state's growing energy industry, the report demonstrates that 60 percent of the state's available jobs are outside the oil patch. The top occupational groups with openings are:

  • office and administrative support;
  • transportation and material moving;
  • construction and extraction;
  • management;
  • healthcare practitioners and technical;
  • food preparation and serving related;
  • sales and related;
  • installation, maintenance and repair; and
  • production.

 

According to Wally Goulet, chairman of the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation, the initiative focuses on hiring veterans because they are well-trained thanks to their military service, and many of the skills they used in the military overlap with needs in the civilian job market.

"The men and women who valiantly served our country bring exceptional skills and work ethic to the civilian job market," said Goulet. "We want them to start their next chapter in a state with excellent career opportunities and a great quality of life."

Representatives from Find the Good Life in North Dakota will be sharing information about some of the career opportunities available in the state and a few key employers, including:

In addition to Find the Good Life in North Dakota, representatives from Job Service North Dakota will attend and provide information about the top-ten highest paying career openings in North Dakota's six largest metro areas.

Rich opportunities for veterans

Many of the available jobs present a variety of potential career paths with opportunities for advancement.

That's exactly what drew retired Army Staff Sgt. Richard Rodgers to North Dakota in July 2013. Rodgers, a California native, was looking for his next step after retiring from the military. "I wanted a second career, not just a job," Rodgers said.

In July 2013, he began his second career in North Dakota as a safety coordinator for Purity Oilfield Services, LLC. Since then he has been promoted to director of safety and is the head of the department.

"There is a lot of opportunity here," Rodgers said. "[Veterans] are going to have the opportunity to walk into a door that's not going to shut on them right away just because they don't have experience in an industry."

Excellent quality of life

In addition to the thousands of career opportunities available, North Dakota offers residents a high quality of life with family-friendly communities, great schools, arts and entertainment, and retail options, world-class outdoor recreation opportunities and the lowest commute time in the country.

According to a Gallup Poll released last month, North Dakota ranks top in the nation in a variety of indicators covering well-being, the environment, education, public affairs and economics.

Some of the accolades include:

  • #1 in America for people who think their standard of living is getting better
  • #1 in America for people who rate K-12 education excellent or good
  • #1 in America for people satisfied with their education system or schools
  • #1 in America for people satisfied with air quality

 

In February, North Dakota was recognized as the happiest state in the country.

"North Dakota is a great place to live, work and raise a family. We hope veterans will recognize all the unique benefits our state has to offer as they consider their next career paths," Goulet said.

For information about available career opportunities and relocating to North Dakota, visit www.FindTheGoodLifeInNorthDakota.com.

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