Northern Michigan University was recognized on the Plus One Program for adding two new jobs during the year of 2017. This adds to the 1,000 employees working at NMU in some fashion.

Marquette businesses have added 3,181 jobs since the beginning of the Plus One Program 11 years ago, according to the Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP).
Supporting growth in local small businesses, the LSCP offers financial assistance, guidance with local and state government commerce laws and regulations, access to workforce training, recruitment resources, and demographic, wage and economic data.

The Plus One Program, started in 2006 by the LSCP, advocates that businesses adding even a single employee helps the regional economy by adding purchasing power, creating a “ripple effect,” Amy Clickner, CEO of the LSCP and creator of the Plus One Program said.

“Your company doesn’t have to create 100 jobs and be on the front page of the paper to have generated economic value,” Clickner said. “Every job is important and should be celebrated.”

Around 80 percent of job growth comes from within one’s own region, said Clickner. That means although many are small individually, local businesses together make up four times more growth than national or multinational chains like Target or McDonald’s.

For students looking to gain employment, Clickner has advice on what businesses are looking for these days.

“Employers are now seeing the value of internships as well to train their future workforce,” she said.

Any business recognized in the program receives a plaque and are given exposure through the LSCP podcast and are given a spot on the LSCP website.

The LSCP encourages other regions to adopt a plan similar to the Plus One Program, although starting the program poses a challenge.

“The most difficult part is to find all of the companies that have grown throughout the year,” Clickner said.

Employers recognized by the program are more than just downtown shops that are often associated with the idea of small business. Among the list of employers who are recognized as having added at least one full-time job in Marquette include: Northern Michigan University, Eagle Mine, National Carbon Technologies, LLC and Ojibwa Casinos.

For any business who has or plans to add a new job listing in the Marquette area, further information on the Plus One Program can be found at www.marquette.org/participate/plus-one/.