A new program in Fond du Lac will pay people who move there to work as much as $15,000.

It’s an innovative effort to address workforce shortages, which economic development officials call the single biggest challenge for local businesses.

The Fond du Lac County Worker Relocation Incentive Program offers a 50 percent reimbursement to employers that offer the bonuses to adult, full-time employees who move from outside of the county for jobs. The incentives have tiers, from $4,000 for a worker earning $35,000 a year who signs a one-year lease in the county, up to a $15,000 payment for a worker who makes $65,000 a year or more and buys a house. 

The program depends on the participation of businesses, which pay the full incentives up-front with an assurance of 50 percent reimbursement from the economic development agency Envision Greater Fond du Lac after a year. 

It’s a way