Recruiting talent the new target for economic development
Most people think the focus of economic development is on bringing in new businesses and new jobs.
As unemployment rates plunge and competition for millennial workers increases, this has led to an increasingly important question: Who fills those jobs? And how do you convince them to stay?
Recruiting talent has become a much bigger piece of the economic development puzzle. More managers are seeing that jobs now follow people, not the other way around.
The Roanoke Regional Partnership, an economic development organization, has made a concerted effort to recruit talent to the region. After collaborating with its eight localities, the business community, tourism officials, colleges and universities, and professional organizations such as the regional chambers and Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, the partnership is developing new and creative ways to recruit talent, ranging from new college graduates to professionals with several years of experience.
The partnership has launched the Get2KnowNoke brand to focus on bringing talent to the region. Along with it came the Get2KnowNoke summer internship program. The partnership also has taken on the Experience conference and programming for young professionals. It hosted or participated in about 20 college programs over the last six months as well.
Erin Burcham, the director of talent solutions for the partnership, has been behind a lot of the efforts. She said that a great way to recruit people is to build on personal relationships, and she serves as a funnel for students of the 25 nearby college and universities to make their way to the area.
To learn more about this topic and the partnership, check out the link below.