About Project Boomerang

Project Boomerang is a broad-based workforce initiative sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce designed to attract out-of-state, highly skilled professionals with Oklahoma ties back to the state to fill high-quality, knowledge-based jobs.

To be competitive in a global market, Oklahoma must move aggressively towards a knowledge-based economy, characterized by industries and jobs that require individuals with advanced skills and a college education. The knowledge-based sector represents those industries that have the highest proportions of jobs accounted for by occupations that typically require higher education and earn relatively high wages.

Examples of knowledge-based occupations are, but are not limited to:

• Management occupations
• Business and financial operations occupations
• Computer and mathematical occupations
• Architecture and engineering occupations
• Life, physical and social science occupations
• Legal occupations occupations
• Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations.

The number of industries which will require workers who possess a college degree and advanced skills will continue to increase in the future. Oklahoma’s knowledge-based sector is projected to have more than 125,000 new and replacement jobs between 2008 and 2018 that must be filled to maintain the state’s existing knowledge sector employment growth rate.

Further, Oklahoma’s technology and life-science companies need access to skilled management talent to grow them to the next level and keep them in Oklahoma.

• The availability of experienced entrepreneurial management for a start-up company may … mean the difference in whether the company receives the investment capital it needs to move forward.

  A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development, Ssti, 2006

Oklahoma employers have told us they have had the most success recruiting skilled management and workers from out of state when those individuals have some previous tie to Oklahoma.

Project Boomerang is a formal marketing effort that is using direct mail, event marketing, word of mouth marketing, social media, web, and other tactics to connect potential Oklahomans with hiring employers.

For more information, please contact Sheri Stickley at 405-815-5332 or
OKBoomerangOKcommerce.