While engineering is the focus of the first effort, resumes from other professionals will be accepted and the initiative could be expanded in the future to focus on specific needs for certain professionals.

The new initiative follows a pilot program late last year. A "Here for the Holidays" campaign featured ads in Wasatch Front newspapers, urging Utah natives now living outside the state to consider returning to their home state for good engineering jobs. GOED received more than 150 resumes.

Grant said L-3 recruits throughout the country and usually finds the engineers it needs, but she said the GOED approach is smart.

"I think they're going the right directions. They've got the UTC (Utah Technology Council) involved and the colleges involved and all of the local companies — whether they are Utah companies or national companies — and they've talked with all of us about what our needs are and how they can best help," she said.

"If you look at areas like California right now and back East with some of the extreme weather, they're going to start looking at Utah and thinking that it's pretty calm. Plus, it's beautiful."

---

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com