USU’s Award-Winning Rural Online Initiative Brings Economic Diversity
There were no handshakes or high-fives when Rural Online Initiative (ROI) Program Director Paul Hill announced to the team that they were the winners of the 2020 NACDEP Innovation and Creativity Team Award.
“The innovation and creativity award is designed to recognize a NACDEP member, or group of members, who have developed an outstanding effort that integrates Community Development program design or implementation which shows demonstrated effectiveness.” — National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals
This new Utah State University Extension program comprises team members spread across the rural communities in Carbon, Emery, Garfield, Sevier, and Washington counties. Team meetings are, and always have been, conducted virtually via video-conference. However, the ROI program’s lack of physical presence is more than compensated for by their far-reaching impact. They are a fully-functioning remote team working to change the outlook for economic diversity and growth in rural Utah. And if one prestigious award wasn’t enough, the ROI program recently added Western Extension Directors Association award for Excellence to the trophy case.
The ROI program has trained and certified 849 participants through its Master Remote Work Professional course since its inception in October of 2018. With the recent focus on remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ROI is certifying up to 150 Utahns per month to contribute to the virtual workforce, a substantial increase from before remote work was a thing. These remote work professional certificate holders are rural jobseekers hoping to join the remote workforce. So far the program has placed 109 participants in remote jobs, which has the economic impact of 3,894 jobs relative to urban counties. From a recent survey sent to program participants in April, another 123 program graduates had began working remotely in response to COVID-19. Follow-up statistics showed that across all graduates who found remote work, total salaries increased by 36%. For those still searching for remote work opportunities, 68% felt confident in their ability to find remote work.
The Master Remote Work Professional certificate course is providing location independence. For rural Utah residents, this means higher-paying positions without making the move to the Wasatch Front, Bay Area, or places beyond. When asked about leaving their current region, 62% of participants had no intention of doing so in search of better job opportunities. In fact, eight of the 15 rural Utah counties served by the ROI program saw declines in unemployment between the program’s inception in 2018 and the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. For small-town economies increased employment and income is a powerful economic stimulus.
“I do translation work, I’ve worked with several different translation and linguistics agencies. I worked for one out of New York and one out of San Francisco.” — Boyd Silversmith, San Juan County
In addition to outfitting the rural workforce with virtual job skills, the ROI program is also providing support and training for Utah businesses to effectively manage and lead remote employees in the Coronavirus era. ROI’s Master Remote Work Leader course provides specialized training to organizational leaders that focuses on managing for performance rather than presence, and avoids common remote work pitfalls such as isolation and overwork.
“We have the capacity to support the entire state now that remote work is part of our daily lives. Education in this remote work as a professional and leader is critical as we continue to practice social distancing in accordance with Utah’s plan for health and economic recovery.” — Paul Hill, Extension Professor & ROI Program Director
The ROI program is a crucial component in our state’s efforts to further diversify rural economies and recover from the negative effects of COVID-19 . Combined with excellent broadband access, the Rural Co-working and Innovation Center (RCIC) grant program, and the Rural Economic Development Incentive (REDI) grant for Utah businesses, ROI is providing opportunities traditionally reserved for major metropolitan hubs to people that are in the greatest of need.
How has the remote work revolution impacted your business? If you’re looking for the tools and resources to make the most of the transition, enroll today in ROI’s Master Remote Work Leader course.
Interested in hiring a certified remote work professional? Share your remote job opportunities with ROI graduates here or visit remoteworkcertificate.com/get_involved.
