Rural Online Initiative

Rural Online Initiative, housed at Utah State University, educates, coaches and mentors Utah’s rural workforce.

Utah State House Bill 327 was designed to solve the exportation crisis of young adults moving away from rural counties in search of sustainable employment.

What we did

To stop this "brain drain," virtual jobs were plugged into the rural economy to decrease unemployment rates without relocation requirements. In collaboration with Utah State University and Workplaceless, Distribute Consulting designed and ignited a sustainable ecosystem of virtual business in these regions by constructing a specialized training and recruiting program for workers, businesses, and civic leaders.

What was the outcome?

In its first year of operation, the Rural Online Initiative created the economic equivalent of nearly 4,000 jobs across 15 rural Utah counties, and 8 of the 15 counties served witnessed a decline in overall unemployment during that time.

"We loved working with Distribute Consulting - the team is professional and their expertise is unmatched. When the need arises in the future, we would definitely consider using them again as consultants."

- Rural Online Initiative