The business climate in Marion County has evolved to a point where the strategy has shifted from attracting new companies, to strengthening the ones which are already here.

Carla Eysink is Executive Director for Marion County Development; she was the guest speaker at this month’s Lunch and Learn session sponsored by the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and held at the Knoxville Hospital and Clinics.

Eysink says while around 73 percent of businesses in Marion County are expanding, 45 percent of them plan on doing their expansion outside of the the county; she tells KNIA/KRLS News part of the problem is a lack of workers willing to relocate here.

“Workforce is a key issue for all of our businesses, whether they’re small or large. There’s a lot of work going on now with ‘upskilling’ which is taking the workforce we have here in the region and heightening their skills,” Eysink says. “But there’s also now work going on to figuring out how do we recruit more people to come to the area to fill those needs of our growing workforce.

“It’s a great thing that our companies are expanding and have growing product and are doing well, but we also now then are faced with the challenge that we need more people to help that growth.”

Eysink says she and other business leaders are working together to encourage more training for skilled workers by area institutions; while there are plenty of college-educated workers available on the market, jobs for welding, plumbing and other such occupations are going unfilled…and those who can do this sort of work can command a higher price.