Local First Arizona and Pipeline AZ are pooling their resources to optimize how rural job seekers and businesses in Pinal County connect in an ever-evolving, competitive and fast-paced job market.

The rural employment portal found at localfirstaz.pipelineaz.com provides one centralized platform for rural career exploration, posting available jobs and one-on-one career consultation with the intent to keep rural talent working in or near their hometowns, according to a release.

Over the next 10 years, the Maricopa Association of Governments estimates Pinal County will see between 1,800 and 3,400 new jobs each year as well as a 50% population growth. These numbers mean that an estimated 4,850 of Pinal County residents may find new employment in their local region instead of relocating to Maricopa County. LocalFirstAz.PipelineAz.com is working to connect these workers to jobs that match their skills and interests.

“Pipeline AZ is a rural workforce initiative in Pinal County that Local First Arizona is launching to showcase education and career opportunities that exist locally,” Lexie Krechel, rural community development manager at Local First Arizona, said in the release. “Being from a rural community, I know firsthand that often it doesn’t seem possible to get the required training and find a career that you qualify for or are interested in locally. Our goal is to break that cycle. We want those seeking employment in Pinal County to know that local opportunities do exist. Through a quick skills assessment on Pipeline AZ that links candidates directly to local training and career pathways, we are able to show job seekers the track to attain their career goals in their hometown.”

Registration is easy for job seekers and employers. For those seeking jobs, the four-step process includes creating their candidate profile, taking a skills assessment, and being matched to jobs in Pinal County where their skills can be applied.

Examples of current employers with listings available include:

• AIRES LLC: caregiver/direct support professional
• Schuff Steel Co.: production helper (two), welder (two) and fitter (two).

Unlike other career services or workforce development platforms, Pipeline AZ will serve the entire workforce ecosystem simultaneously — rural businesses, job seekers, educators and workforce organizations.

About Local First Arizona

Founded in 2003 by Kimber Lanning, Local First Arizona is a community and economic development organization working to strengthen local economies.

Local First Arizona educates consumers about the interconnectedness of the economy, trains small businesses to be more effective and more competitive, helps larger Arizona businesses and institutions tell their story as champions of Arizona, and creates programs and events that make it fun and easy to discover local businesses and buy local. Go to localfirstaz.com for more information and a directory of more than 3,000 locally owned businesses.

About Pipeline AZ

Pipeline AZ is a career development and exploration platform designed for the Arizona community to create more pathways to in-demand careers by connecting the dots between industry and education, the release states.

Pipeline AZ uses skills mapping technology to help job seekers begin a new path, level-up in their existing careers, explore work or work-based learning opportunities, and discover new passions that change their career trajectory. For employers, it is a valuable recruiting tool that features high-quality candidate matching, free job posting and white-glove concierge case management service to assemble candidate pools with the skills needed to build their talent pipeline.