The Door County Peninsula business climate is energized with companies whose products are marketed on the local and international stage. A skilled workforce, brimming with ambition and a strong work ethic, helps foster their success.

Workers here are resourceful and well educated. The Sturgeon Bay campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay provide ample opportunities for continuing education and training.

Since 1989, Door County Economic Development Corporation has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs and initiatives. DCEDC understands the needs of local businesses for quality workers to staff new and existing jobs.

The DCEDC Workforce Taskforce is a coalition of 30 area human resource managers, business owners and other concerned organizations and individuals. The Taskforce develops and implements an annual work plan to address current and future workforce needs; past initiatives have included: sharing regional wage comparison information with 52 local firms; conducting a wages and benefits survey of 15 local manufacturing companies; development and delivery of a brochure to entice US Coast Guard personnel to consider making Door County their home after leaving active service; hosting educational sessions on the challenges of a multi-generational workplace; and conducting an employer needs assessment to judge the future workforce needs of local manufacturing companies.

The Taskforce also organized a scooter giveaway during the annual Sevastopol Alumni Class Tournament over the Labor Day weekend, which gave the Taskforce the opportunity to raise awareness of locally available career opportunities to the hundreds of Sevastopol alumni and spouses attending. The Taskforce will continue to target local high school reunion groups as an avenue to recruit graduates to return to Door County and become part of the local workforce.

For more information or to join the Taskforce, contact Sam Perlman, Economic Development Manager.

DCEDC also sponsors the Door/Kewaunee Business and Education Partnership (DKBEP), the one-stop access point for business and education connections in Door and Kewaunee counties. The Partnership strives educate youths about local career opportunities and to ensure that all area students have the skills and behaviors necessary to succeed in the ever-changing global economy.

The Door County Job Center is where local employers and job seekers connect. The Job Center can assist employers with recruitment, retention and referral services, and helps job seekers with job search, work readiness, job skill building and employment retention.

The Bay Area Workforce Development Board, serving ten counties in Northeast Wisconsin and consisting of selected community representatives, develops a skilled workforce by strategically allocating and coordinating resources to address community needs by working through others for the benefit of all.

Between 2002 and 2004, DCEDC administered nearly $459,000 in federal Department of Labor grant funds for customized training projects for fifteen Door County businesses. The grant provided training to almost 1,200 area workers, which far exceeded the original contract goal of 793 Door County workers.