WMRPC: Attracting, keeping young adults key to jobs, growth
September 18th, 2008 at 1:59 pm by Tony Tagliavia under News
Attracting college-educated young adults — people 25- to 34-years-old — is key to growing jobs and the economy in West Michigan. But hanging on to the young adults the region already has is moreso.
And a “vibrant city core” is key to hanging on those young adults.
That word in the second presentation at the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference.
Carol Coletta, president of CEOs for Cities, said those educated young adults are very mobile — 64 percent of them look for a place to live before they look for a job. She says their priorities are clean attractive places where they can live the way they want to live. They’re looking for the type of housing they want — and of course they want to be able to afford it. And she says they are looking for a community that is welcoming and culturally diverse, among other things.
Educated young adults are now 30 percent more likely to live within three miles of the center of the metropolitan area in which they live — in other words, they live downtown and in nearby neighborhoods.
But Coletta says cities sometimes miss the mark by focusing too much on making “cool” cities and not enough on understanding that the ultimate goal needs to be attracting and retaining young talent.
She says cities and regions are really the driver on the issue but states can get involved, most effectively by investing in education. Cities ought to connect the students at their college campuses to the cities to increase the likelihood that those students are interested in staying once their education is complete.
Cities need to be distinct, Coletta says, and not seek to copy how other cities are defining themselves or attracting talent.
Asked about transit, she says a downtown transit system is not effective in attracting talent but she says a regional transit system is.
The presentation from “Our Big Three” — Haworth, Herman Miller and Steelcase — is now underway. Look for something on that soon.
Your thoughts on this presentation?
Tony
Tags: attracting young adults, Grand Rapids, Michigan, michigan economy, retaining young adults, West Michigan, West Michigan Regional Policy Conference, young adults
UNBELIEVABLE!!! I CANNOT believe what I just read. This just proves once and for all that AGE DISCRIMINATION around here is RAMPANT! Executives from all 3 major office furniture businesses in this area ADMIT that they want to attract “young professionals” ages 25-34??? Are they that clueless that they don’t realize or care how blatantly discriminatory their comments are? SHAME ON THEM!!! My husband is 53, has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management (earned just 13 years ago), PLUS 35 years of work experience and yet for the last 2 years since his company closed NOBODY will hire him for a permanent job. He has sought advice from a GR professional employment consulting firm, the placement director from his alma mater, AND Michigan Works. They ALL told him he is doing everything right and that his resume, interview skills, enthusiasm, personality, and appearance are all top notch. They also have all told him that they are very aware that age discrimination happens a lot around here and it happens ALL THE TIME. But companies continue to get away with it because they know it is nearly impossible to prove. Now these company executives have the GALL to admit it very openly and publicly in a newspaper?? They should be ashamed AND sued. West Michigan DOES NOT need to attract “young professionals”, international students, or illegal aliens for jobs here. There are literally thousands of “older people” living right here, right now, that are perfectly capable with MORE experience, MORE knowledge, and by far MORE LOYALTY than a fresh college graduate. What is wrong with this picture?? So absolutely ridiculous, and so very, very sad.
I feel for the more experienced workers but I have to say it is difficult all around. As a 35 year old with an MBA, I have been out of work for two years and it doesn’t matter what people are saying about retaining educated young workers, I think it is bunk! I personally have applied to two of the three furniture manufactures and have done all that I can to even get in the door but I continually get the “overqualified” response. I’m not sure how they can tell me this and then say these types of things. I just want to work to support my family!
I am not agree with this job. 25-34 yrs old to get job . that bullshit. everyone are 16 to 65 years can be work whatever they want to . no matter what. I am 29 yrs old and mY husbnad is 30 yrs old . what wrong with the age., for the job?????
I graduated last year with a Bachelor’s degree…but that doesn’t mean anything! I am STILL unemployed and STILL looking for a job…and I have some hefty student loans to pay…my husband and I are getting by with his income, BUT we live at his parents’ house…so young or old, it doesn’t matter, they either like you or don’t and they go to the next person on the list.
attracting young people huh? don’t you need jobs to attract young people? do these window-licking CEO’s realize every time they announce major layoffs, young people like me start thinking of moving? you can’t have it both ways, idiots!
and to sara, the writing is on the wall, Michigan is not a state where you can pursue your career goals, its time to move on.
of course they want to hire more young people, because:
a) they don’t have to pay them as much
b) they typically don’t have children so they can work over time
c) can be easily replaced once they reach a certain age.
d) health care expenses are less than older workers
e) didn’t grow up in a time when employers valued employees so they don’t come to expect it
Here’s the context that is missing from this discussion: The three trends that have built the American labor force over the past 30 years are now flattening out — Baby Boomers are nearing retirement age, women are now in the workforce at the same rate as men, and we are not building a lot of new college capacity. Therefore to rebuild the talent pool, cities must attract and retain new talent. The focus is on young talent because that is the talent that is mobile. Those are the people willing to move. If they are moving to your city, you are much more competitive. If they are moving away from your city, you will be less competitive.
Response to of course… You are right on the health insurance advantage young adults, particularly young men, represent. As an employer, I get penalized when I hire a woman or someone older. I am penalized because I am older, and I think I may have missed 3 days of work in 30 years due to illness. That’s why I am hoping that we can get some relief in the next Administration. I would be happy just to be able to buy into a larger insurance plan if the federal government provided it in order to reduce my rates.
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