
2 minute read
Talent
A region’s ability to attract, develop and maintain a vibrant and skilled workforce
The Metrics
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STEM Salaries: Weighted average salaries in STEM occupations
Percentage of population employed in knowledge-intensive occupations such as management, legal and STEM
Educational Attainment: Percentage of population with: Associate’s degree Bachelor’s degree or higher
Global Talent: Percentage of population that is foreignborn
• Despite a ranking of 9th out of 10, STEM salaries in Columbia have trended positively over the past several years; a strong labor market should continue to drive improvement.
• Per capita GDP is moving in the wrong direction, likely tied to the increasingly high proportion of locally-focused service jobs in sectors like retail and hospitality.
• Columbia’s proportion of knowledge workers has decreased steadily since the first report not out of line with most of our peers, but also not growing in line with the national average as jobs across all sectors become increasingly tech-intensive.
• Columbia is already producing qualified talent (over 68,000 total higher education students), but we’re losing college graduates to positions outside the region. Meanwhile, our competitors are focusing on attracting those graduates to their regions to fill unmet workforce needs.
• Tennessee has made technical college free to qualifying in-state students, boosting Knoxville’s educational attainment ranking as well as their long-term pipeline.
Observations Opportunity Brag
The University of South Carolina is producing higherachieving talent than ever before. The Darla Moore School of Business, a key source for regionally important sectors such as financial services, supply chain and logistics management and professional services…
Just graduated it’s largest class in Spring 2019
1,086UNDERGRADS
84% Attained its highest job placement rate
$57,837 Received the highest avg. starting salaries to date
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Inspiration
Talent Development in Des Moines
In Iowa, the Greater Des Moines (DSM) Partnership serves as the primary regional development organization. Without a major research university to supply the region’s talent needs, the DSM Partnership has focused on talent attraction as a key part of its economic development strategy, taking a proactive approach to building Des Moines’ brand. Each year, the DSM Partnership travels to colleges and universities around the country to showcase opportunities and livability in the Des Moines region. It also provides resources such as intern retention and community engagement programs designed to keep talented employees in the region.
In an economic environment with high talent demand, we have the capacity to supply a greater number of businesses with educated employees. Columbia must develop a purposeful approach to retaining these graduates - and that strategy must include recruiting companies in desperate need of young talent. At the same time, we can engage these new graduates and early-career professionals by connecting them to each other and to the community through social and professional opportunities.
In addition to our large base of college-age students, Columbia has been successful in attracting young professionals due to a high-value lifestyle, stable economy and wide array of diverse amenities.
Source | Annual Migration Patterns, U.S. Census Bureau, 2017
