Opening the Golden Door

How WCCO Belting hires and retains New Americans to drive business forward

By Thomas Shorma

WAHPETON, N.D. – We all see the “Now Hiring” signs posted in front of our local businesses when we’re driving to and from work. Our region continues to experience serious workforce shortage issues that pose a threat to our companies. Employers are struggling to find and retain the talent they need.

But North Dakota has a small but growing immigrant community. And an increasing number of employers – including WCCO Belting, a family-owned manufacturer of rubber belting products – are putting stronger focus on the recruitment of New Americans.

For decades, WCCO has depended on employees from a blend of cultures to keep our business moving forward. My father and WCCO founder, Edward Shorma, was a native-born U.S. citizen with immigrant parents. He spent years relocating dozens of families to the Wahpeton community where jobs were available.

It is rooted in our culture that if a person has a willingness to learn and the determination to be a productive employee, they will be hired. Today, our workforce includes employees who speak 14 different languages.

Although recruiting immigrants is a great way to fill open positions and help bolster our businesses and community, there are challenges. The most common that we encounter at WCCO is the language barrier. Many prospective employees interested in a career with our production workforce are just learning to speak English; more about that below.