Gov. Asa Hutchinson introduces ARTechJobs.com, a new website that aims to help job seekers find positions in the technology sector in the state.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday announced the launch of ARTechJobs.com, a free website that aims to connect people looking for high-tech jobs with employers in Arkansas.
The website, built by the Information Network of Arkansas at no cost to the state, already contains job postings from 50 companies, including AT&T Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., Windstream Holdings Inc., J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., Inuvo Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., iDatafy, Tenneco and the state of Arkansas.
The governor and Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Mike Preston introduced the site alongside business leaders at the Little Rock Technology Park in Little Rock. The governor pitched the effort as part of his Computer Coding initiative, which focuses on increasing the number of Arkansans working in high-tech fields.
“Now it is time to focus on connecting tech-savvy young people to the growing number of available tech jobs in our state,” Hutchinson said. “By connecting those searching for jobs with local employers, ArTechJobs.com will simplify the job-search process and keep more of our tech talent right here in Arkansas.”
The governor said Arkansas is the first state to have a website of unfilled tech jobs.
“We’re saying, ‘You want talent, it’s right here in Arkansas.’ And to illustrate that, we have those job opportunities for the talent that’s already here,” he said.
The site is free to use for companies and job seekers. Companies can create accounts and start posting open positions immediately.
Among those with job postings on the site is DataScout of Fayetteville, which provides information technology services, database management, software development and online platforms for county governments and parishes in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Cory Scott, the company’s COO, said it’s hard to find the right talent for the mix of skills his company requires, even in Fayetteville, which is home to the University of Arkansas and within of a few minutes’ drive of national companies like Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods. He said he thinks ARTechJobs could help attract new workers to the state.
“In Fayetteville, it’s very difficult to find talent, and it’s expensive,” he said. “And I’m eager to [find], how do we bring talent into Arkansas and retain that, and I think ARTechJobs will be a great resource for that.”
And it’s not just pure tech companies like DataScout that need highly skilled workers. Preston said there’s a need to fill tech jobs in all sectors —agriculture, manufacturing, retail, financial services. Having a website like ARTechJobs sets the state apart, he said.
“As the AEDC, we’re trying to convince companies to come here,” he said. “And when they come here, they’re going to say, ‘Where’s the talent?’ We have something now that we can point to and say, ‘Here’s the pipeline of talent that we have, and [you] can go to this website free of charge and link into it and find everything that you want.'”
Preston said AEDC will market the website across the state and country. The governor said he’ll talk about it next week on his fifth computer science tour of Arkansas schools, as he encourages students to consider careers in a field increasingly in need of more workers. Hutchinson said there are 650 annual openings for computer and mathematical occupations in Arkansas, and wage rates in those fields are rising quickly.
The governor, who has championed jobs in computer science since campaigning for office in 2014, has been working to make the Arkansas workforce more attractive to tech companies. His computer education program, approved by the Legislative in 2015, made Arkansas the first state to require all high schools to offer computer science courses.
On Tuesday, Hutchinson told Arkansas Business that the state’s technology and innovation sector has come a long way, and that the pieces are place for more growth. There’s more startup capital now than five, even three years ago, he said, and the state boasts key programs like the FinTech accelerator, which is backed by FIS, a major financial services provider.
“So, we combine the talent with the investment capital, with the entrepreneurial spirit we’ve always had, with our very mature technology companies, we really have all the ingredients here,” he said.
Sign up for Daily E-news
