ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701070005
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: ECONOMIC FORECAST
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on January 7, 1997.
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. of Chicago expects to employ 185 people by
the end of 1997 at its book factory under construction in Roanoke
County. An incorrect figure was used in a story Sunday.
At least 10 companies new to the Roanoke, New River and Martinsville areas are hiring more than 500 employees in 1997.
Nancy W. Thompson is one of them. Although she's already on board, Thompson is typical of the impact on the region's employment being felt by a spate of industrial announcements that highlighted the region's economy in 1996.
Thompson, an administrative assistant, is one of the first hires by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. for its planned book factory being constructed in Roanoke County.
Donnelley was a foreign-sounding name to Thompson when she first heard about plans of the big Chicago printing and information services company to expand in the Roanoke Valley. She researched the company at the library and talked to friends and soon, Thompson saw that Donnelley had a reputation as a good company to work for.
After 31/2 months on the job, she has affirmed her choice to leave her last job as a secretary to executives at Yokohama Tire Corp. - not because she disliked it, but because her new job is better for her.
"They're always sending us to some kind of class. Diversity training is in store. I've had three days and I have three more. I'll probably end up taking more computer classes," Thompson said. "Donnelley has a lot more to offer as far as career advancement, personal growth."
Economic development is about jobs, and in 1997, the job pipeline will flow, having been charged in 1996 by a flock of new companies committing to the area. They are from as far away as Japan. Their products range from pillows to fireworks.
Filling those jobs began late last year but the pace of hiring will hasten this year. The new companies will need to pull some portion of their workers from existing companies, in all likelihood.
"With unemployment being so low in Roanoke, I have to feel a good portion, if not the majority, of those folks [we hire] will probably be pulled from other employers rather than from people that are currently unemployed," said Randy Rakes, general affairs manager at Dynax Corp. The Japanese maker of auto transmission components will need 50 people by the end of 1997 to staff a factory under way in Botetourt County.
Many of the companies said they picked this area because they understood that it was home to many skilled people with a positive work ethic, but the companies are employee-hunting at a time when workers are scarce. In October, according to the latest available statistics, the Roanoke Valley logged a 2.8 percent unemployment rate.
Nonetheless, interest in these new companies is running high. One, York International Inc. of Pennsylvania, moved quickly enough to hire a 12-person force and start assembling compressors five months after the project was announced in Botetourt County.
Rakes of Dynax said applicants swamped the company with resumes and cover letters for two engineering positions advertised late last year.
"I've gotten close to 60 resumes," mostly from residents of Virginia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, Rakes said. He hired a Roanoker and a second person from outside the area. The company has said it intends to pay $13 per hour.
Meanwhile, Donnelley said it will need 105 people by the end of 1997 to operate its book factory west of Salem. That's 75 fewer than an earlier estimate, but the company has not announced any intention to scale back the project. The company has said pay will range from $9 to $17 an hour.
Based on initial interviews, the typical applicant was already employed, and a surprising number had more skill than their current jobs required, said Michael Higgins, Donnelly's local human resources facilitator.
Valley leaders have said they are concerned about a mismatch between some workers and their jobs. Carl McDaniels, professor of counselor education at Virginia Tech, said in November better information on underemployment is needed.
"It's safe to say there are a number of employees that are more qualified than they need to be for the jobs that they are in," Higgins said. "I'm just personally amazed at the amount of apparent underemployment of individuals."
It's not clear that Donnelley will supply the answer in all cases. As a hypothetical, Higgins said he has heard from people "with advanced degrees or even undergraduate degrees [who] have an interest in an entry level, even administrative, positions."
More than 500 people had contacted Donnelley by last month about book plant work.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER STAFF. The spate of new companies moving toby CNBthe region works to the advantage of people such as Nancy Thompson,
who was looking for career advancement. She moved from Yokohama Tire
Corp. to R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. color. Graphic: Chart by staff:
Job openings. KEYWORDS: MGR