About Smartt

"I have found a lot of the larger organizations in Eau Claire "get it," so if they're doing a lot of recruitment they're looking for this tool - so they were really identifiers of the need. It's different than anything else that's available today."

-Theresa Ritzinger, Hutchinson Technologies, Inc.

"I think that the SMARTT Network is so key for our area because a lot of areas like ours are graduating more students than they can absorb in the job market - the brain drain that everyone talks about. But, once they gain some experience, they can come back again and often do. I'm one who did that myself. I moved to Oregon and worked there as an economist for a couple of years and then decided to come back. If I had had a resource like this it would have made coming back to the Midwest a lot easier. When you want to move somewhere the most difficult thing to do is to find that job so you can move there. This really eases that transition."

-Scott Hodek, Labor Economist for the WI Department of Workforce Development

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"One of the biggest impediments to economic growth is often the ability to bring together the three components of value-added business development: capital; talent; and ideas. The SMARTT Network provides the forum to bridge those three elements in an accelerated fashion."

-Matt Wagner, Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation (CATI)

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"The SMARTT Network is a great tool for business. It can be difficult to recruit from outside the area, especially those who aren't aware of the great opportunities here or may be unsure about coming to a smaller city. When you're recruiting from a group that has existing connections to the area, the process becomes much easier. They're already sold on the quality of life factors. I think in the long run this is probably going to be one of the more successful ways of recruiting talent."

-Scott Hodek, Labor Economist for the WI Department of Workforce Development

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