Employers

“Building a workforce piepline to ensure continued economic growth in the Corridor”

Economic Development Impact
In order to successfully grow the region and compete in a global economy, the Corridor has to compete on a local, state, national and international level for talent or workforce.  If communities can’t provide an available, affordable, and capable workforce, the local economy will suffer.  MyTernNow specifically addresses having an available and capable workforce. 

A National Workforce Issue
“As Baby Boomers exit the workforce, not enough people are entering it.  In the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau states, “Almost 90% of the next decade’s net increase in the working-age population will occur in the 55-64 year age category.” As the labor force is aging, North America and parts of Europe are faced with the challenge of not having enough young employees to replace the gap created by retiring employees.” – Adwoa K Buahene & Giselle Kovary, Loyalty Unplugged – How to get, keep, and grow all four generations.

A Statewide Workforce Issue
In 2007, Iowa Workforce Development projected a “jobs surplus” of more than 150,000 highly-skilled positions in the next 5 years.  In addition, the Generation Iowa Commission notes that, ““To maintain Iowa’s economic status, we must maintain a skilled workforce in Iowa industries that are most affected by the retirement of baby boomers.  To move Iowa’s economy forward, we must maintain a skilled workforce in Iowa’s targeted industries that are projected to grow.” Generation Iowa Report, 2008

Not only does the state of Iowa already face a job surplus and baby boomers retiring, Iowa is also known as an exporter of young college students, having low immigration and birth rates and sufferss from a poor recruitment image.  “Iowa’s surplus arises from colliding trends: the exodus of young college graduates, a state economy adds 2,000 jobs a month, low immigration and birth rates, and an image problem that makes it difficult to recruit workers from out of state.” New York Times

Regional Issue
•Global competition
•High-skilled jobs; less demand for unskilled work
•New technology
“All of these influencers create critical dynamics for employers in our region.  Responding to rapid workplace change in relationship to the number of educated and skilled workers to fill current and future workforce needs is imperative.” Skills 2010 Report

How can we solve this?
The solution to attracting and retaining young people in Iowa will take many partners and many approaches.  The MyTernNow initiative is one of many at work to attract and retain the next generation talent to the Corridor.  Outreach and education to local students as early as high school and/or middle school is important for career exploration.  Marketing to college students and YPs outside the region about career opportunities here is vital in the attraction of talented workers.

How does MyTernNow work at solving the workforce crisis?
•Educate 15-25 year olds about career information and opportunities in the Corridor region
•Long term goal:  get young people interested in career opportunities in the Corridor; build a workforce pipeline
•Short term goal: help employers who are currently recruiting young talent to the Corridor for internships, co-ops, or entry level positions
•Ongoing goal: act as a relocation/recruitment website for young people making decisions about where to locate

Employer Participation
Contribute to the employer directory by giving students information about your company, careers, work environment, hours, benefits, travel, size of company and help build the workforce pipeline.
Create an internship listing to attract students to your company for internships, co-ops and expertential learning opportunities. 

The Situation is Real
As young people become adults – they have 2 questions:
 - First, do you stay or leave the town where you came from?
 - And second, if you leave, do you ever go back?
The critical points of the workforce issue are:
 -That we have the ability to attract students back to the community after leaving
 -Provide local training options for a high-tech workforce
 -Compete against other communities for the best and brightest in the world

Please participate now by clicking on the Add a Link button to the left of the page!