New DEED commissioner shares vision for Minnesota’s jobs, economic future

Minnesota’s New Leader for Economic Development

At a critical moment, Minnesota’s economic development efforts have a new leader.

Matt Varilek to Lead DEED

Matt Varilek will lead the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) as employers are dealing with crisis-level labor shortages, and consumers are anxiously waiting as central bankers attempt to cool inflation to avoid a recession. Meanwhile, lawmakers recently loaded his agency with more cash and responsibilities, including running the massive — and controversial — paid family and medical leave program.

Focus on Sustainable Development Goals

“As the Fed sets policy that impacts the national waters that we swim in, we’re trying to make sure that Minnesota is making the most of our resources so that this is an attractive place for workers,” Varilek said. “I feel like the customers of this agency are all of Minnesota.”

Varilek’s Background

The 48-year-old father of three came to DEED from the Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation, where he led an organization that uses loans, grants, and other financing to bolster central Minnesota’s regional economy and communities.

He previously served as chief operating officer of the U.S. Small Business Administration and was economic development director for former Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, of South Dakota. Varilek, who grew up in South Dakota, made an unsuccessful bid for Congress there about a decade ago.

Interview with Matt Varilek

One month into the job, Varilek spoke with the Star Tribune about Minnesota’s economic development needs. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Past Experience and Approach at DEED

How have your past roles and political experience prepared you for this job and shaped your approach at DEED?

I made the case as a candidate that serving at a large economic development agency like the Small Business Administration would be analogous to the responsibilities of leading our state’s primary economic development and workforce development agency.

In addition, spending 6½ years at the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls and serving the 14 counties and two Native nations there with programs like small business lending, with entrepreneurial training, workforce development, childcare efforts and beyond, those experiences helped to ground me in the reality of Minnesota economic development and workforce development.

Roadblocks to Economic Growth

What are the biggest roadblocks to economic growth in Minnesota?

The central feature of the economic landscape in Minnesota right now is the challenge with workforce development and workforce availability, talent. Fortunately, with advocacy from the governor, lieutenant governor, and others — and with the circumstances of the last legislative session — we now have resources to address those challenges on a scale that we have not had before.

Now with very low unemployment, it’s a significant challenge even with those resources. But we have programs with a track record of success, and now we can scale them in a way that I’m optimistic is going to help bring more young people and more people who just haven’t found the right career path into the workforce to meet the needs of employers.

Attracting and Retaining Businesses

What are the most important steps Minnesota can take to attract and retain businesses?

There are numerous factors that a business wants to take into consideration when they’re deciding where to start, where to stay, where to expand. And we need to keep all those plates spinning at the same time. They need to have an appropriate site. They need to have access to infrastructure. They need to have access to their customers, to the supplies that they will use to produce their goods or services.

They need to have access to talent. And that’s the one where we’re really competing with lots of other places right now, and where I feel like the investments that have been made and that we’re in the process of delivering — through grants and resources to other partners — are really going to make a difference and help us to stand out.

Implementation of Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

What is happening now to implement the paid family and medical leave program, and how will you find the roughly 400 employees needed to run it?

January of 2026 is when benefits start becoming available and when we start collecting premiums from employers and from workers. But in the meantime, there’s plenty of work that needs to happen here. One of the first deadlines we have is to produce an actuarial study that will give us a more precise estimate of the economics of the program. And so that’s underway.

We’re also in the process of making some of the early hires, and they will help us to flesh out in more detail the precise step-by-step process of standing up a brand new program.

We now want to hear from everyone who’s going to be impacted by this program about the implementation piece, so that we can make it work for all. We will be looking for input from lots of folks, including the business community, workers, and others to make sure that we can just deliver this as professionally and effectively as possible.

Addressing Workforce Challenges

Affordable housing and child care access remain two of Minnesota’s biggest workforce challenges. How is DEED working with public and private sector partners on those shortages?

When it comes to housing, we have some resources there that we use directly. But to a greater extent, of course, that’s Minnesota Housing with Commissioner Jennifer Ho who has responsibility there. So lots of interagency collaboration to make sure that we are all rowing in the same direction

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading, and innovation
• Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
• Target 8.6: By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
• Target 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
• Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes
• Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
• Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
• Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
• Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

No, the article does not mention or imply any specific indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: startribune.com

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