However, Mr Bennett said while a recent advertising campaign for a management position received about 50 responses to the recruitment company only one of those people said he was prepared to shift to Wanganui.
He put that down to the "bad publicity" Wanganui had received in the media in recent years.
Despite that Mr Bennett said his company made it a rule that management must live in Wanganui, "otherwise they don't get a flavour for the place and are wasting time travelling to and from their homes to work".
He said operating a business in Wanganui was not a hindrance, either, and the company had never had problems getting staff for jobs in its Castlecliff factory.
"People working here have been extremely loyal. We've got some staff who've been here almost as long as the company has been operating, and that's 30 years."
He was often asked why the company had not shifted to a place like Manukau. "For a start the wage bill would be 50 per cent higher, the staff wouldn't be as reliable and there's all the other drama of operating in Auckland to contend with.
"You don't have to be in a main centre to make your business work, and the fact we're on the other side of the world to some of our major customers doesn't matter a bit."
An example was an order bound for Finland, which was shipped out of Wanganui on Tuesday and would be in that country on Monday.
But he said it was vital the city retained labour-intensive businesses such as Affco and Mars Petcare.
"If we could somehow create 100 new jobs a year in that sort of processing environment our unemployment rates would be negligible," Mr Bennett said.
Warren Ruscoe, managing director of Meteor Design and Print, Office Products Depot, said the amount of talent in the city's employment "pool" was impressive. "The calibre of people who we've had apply for jobs when we've advertised has been exceptional."
But he also had some harsh words for the Government. "This National Government has forgotten provincial New Zealand. They can talk all they like about rolling out ultra-fast broadband but they just don't realise how tough a time the provinces are facing at the moment," he said.
Among the jobs featuring on Immigration New Zealand's long-term skills shortage list were three veterinarian positions in the broader Wanganui-Manawatu region - more than any other region in the country.
David Lowe, of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, said jobseekers should open their eyes to opportunities around the country.
He said trades were lacking workers partly because of technological advances, including for automotive electricians. "Those practical careers weren't given the focus and the kids at school weren't exposed to them," he said.