NEW GLARUS — One area business is taking advantage of a state grant program to bring in needed employees who are unable to travel to the village for a job.

Augusto Perez, human resources manager for Jack Link’s New Glarus, said the need for the vanpool program was apparent when he attended job fairs or interacts on social media to recruit workers.

“Some people, every week, may need to find a way to get there,” Perez said, adding that competition in a time of decreased unemployment makes distance a problem. “That may become a burden. It they find another opportunity closer (to home), that could become a retention problem for us.”

Those anticipated issues prompted a grant application and the planning of a commuter aid program. According to a press release by the state Department of Workforce Development, the grant application period for the “Commute to Careers” grant program began on Aug. 2 and continued until Sept. 5. The state set aside $8 million in funding. The release noted that “the goal of the grant opportunity is to establish affordable, self-sustaining and flexible transportation programs” which will grow to meet the needs of employees and employers.

The $8 million included $5 million through the DWD Wisconsin Fast Forward Program and $3 million for vehicle grants through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Jack Link’s New Glarus facility secured $240,000 of that funding. With a match requirement of $57,000 contributed by the company to create the vanpool program, Perez said a total of $287,000 will be used to establish and operate the commuter aid program. 

The company hopes to bring in employees from urban areas in Dane, Green and Rock counties, according to a press release from Jack Link’s spokesperson Conny Bergerson. It hopes to bring 100 new employees into the 24/7 location. 

Perez said the investment from the company is worth it if more workers can be brought in. Currently, the facility has roughly 350 employed. However, Perez said the company has been looking to employ more than 400 and that he continues to recruit.

The program has not been fully developed just yet. Perez said he and others are currently “working on the logistics” and estimated that routes could begin in early 2019. He noted that it would likely help current employees who struggle to find a ride to work as well.

“It becomes one less problem for us,” he said. “We want to facilitate transportation solutions … for people struggling for transportation between home and work.”

Currently, Perez said the plan is to have approved areas of pick up and drop off for employees, but that has yet to be organized. And if it is more viable to simply make stops at the homes of workers, that could be an option as well.

He added that because New Glarus is rural, it is more difficult to recruit employees because of the lack of public transportation, which is what prompted planning for the program. Perez said it would be ideal to gain more employees through the vanpool program from places like the metro area of Madison and other cities like Janesville, Beloit and Monroe.