Rio Rancho program courts employers, jobs
BERNALILLO — The Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce has rolled out a new program, Discover Sandoval, to bring employers to Sandoval County and keep employees here, the chamber president told Sandoval County commissioners last month.
Chamber President and CEO Jerry Schalow said Discover Sandoval aims to address workforce challenges in the county.
Schalow said of the 152,000 residents of Sandoval County, 105,000 of them are in Rio Rancho. But 62% of Rio Rancho's workforce leaves for a job outside the county. The shortage of jobs in Sandoval County is a big factor.
“Out of 152,000, there are only 31,000 jobs in Sandoval County,” Schalow said. “That is basically 4.88 residents per job. If you look at Santa Fe, with a similar population, there are at 2.55. We need, of course, to bring more people into Sandoval County for jobs, but we also need to fill the jobs we do have.”
The chamber is hoping to recruit employers to Sandoval County by countering the issues that out-ofstate job-seekers have raised high crime rates, concern over poor education, lower wages and not enough entertainment options. Schalow said Sandoval County has a solution for each issue.
“The ironic thing is Sandoval County is the best-kept secret in the state of New Mexico,” Schalow said. “… For instance, it has the lowest crime in the Southwest for any community over 100,000 people. Corrales is the safest community in New Mexico, Rio Rancho Public Schools is the toprated school district. We have all of these jobs, engineering, construction, vocational, health care, (and) those wages are highly competitive with other cities. The purpose of this program is also to show that Sandoval County is a desirable place for businesses and jobs. Schalow and the chamber are working to build the Sandoval County brand and will use social media to increase brand awareness.
“Identity is key, so developing that identity establishing Sandoval County as an oasis,” Schalow said. “What I mean by an oasis is there's not a lot of folks outside of our community that know that we have great schools, public safety, cost of living, top employers, we have all of those things.”
Schalow said business and community leaders, economic developers, Rio Rancho Public Schools and Central New Mexico Community College are partners in the program. “The bottom line is we're not going to fill these job vacancies until we can tell our story and outrun any of the negatives that are happening in the state right now,” Schalow told commissioners on Feb. 22.
SeeSandoval.org and DiscoverSandoval.com are websites aimed at promoting quality of life in the county. The chamber launched DiscoverSandoval.com recently to help target out-of-state workers, local businesses and community partners, and help grow brand awareness, engagement and audience.