Make Indiana a magnet for jobs

In a workforce survey conducted last year by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, 45 percent of the companies responded that underqualified applicants were the reason they have jobs that are going unfilled.

This presents a conundrum, because for two years in a row, at Purdue University we've seen 50 percent of our in-state STEM graduates, and 40 percent of the in-state students overall, leave for jobs outside the state.

This week, stakeholders from across Indiana will come together to generate ideas for a call to action designed to strengthen Indiana as a magnet for jobs and talent, and to lessen what some people have termed the state's "brain drain."

We've had these discussions before, but this time the discussion will be different, because we are seeing signs that the situation may be already improving.

Indianapolis, for example, is developing a vibrant tech community. This year, Forbes ranked Indy as fifth in the nation for creating tech jobs, a similar ranking to one offered last year by real estate tracking firm CBRE.

Companies across the nation are noticing the favorable environment for business, including the pool of talent that exists in the Hoosier state: In 2015, the cloud-services tech firm Appirio moved its offices from San Francisco to Indianapolis.

The Lilly Endowment Inc. is working to continue this momentum by focusing on science-driven approaches that will lead to new job-creation and talent-retention programs in the state.

In addition to the Lilly Endowment, organizations including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Ivy Tech, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Indiana INTERNnet, TechPoint, and many others are collaborating and working hard to better position Indiana as a preferred place to work.

Shortly after then-Governor Mitch Daniels became Purdue University’s twelfth president, he began emphasizing a more targeted approach towards engagement with companies. We also began building a vibrant ecosystem for faculty, students and staff to train their talent into entrepreneurial enterprises. The result is that Purdue now ranks fifth in the world among universities in creating new start-up companies, according to the Association of University Technology Managers. We see our transformative engagement and entrepreneurial activities as our answer to worries about brain drain; indeed, we are targeting ways of making Indiana a magnet for jobs and talent.

As for the 50 percent of graduates leaving the state, according to analysis by the Purdue Center for Regional Development, college graduates who leave Indiana are more likely to stay in the Midwest than go to the coasts. They are leaving Indiana for better career opportunities. More job openings, better career opportunities, and greater exposure to existing opportunities in Indiana would not only keep talent here but also create an inflow from out of state.

The outmigration of young educated talent to other places in the state or to other parts of the United States, remains a significant issue in many counties in Indiana. According to data drawn from a number of sources, the factors that are motivating such moves vary, but include a desire to live in places with stronger economies, greater job opportunities, higher earnings potential, a larger array of social and cultural amenities, and accessibility to a higher density of well-educated people.

This week, we will bring together leaders from educational institutions, new startup companies, established businesses, philanthropic organizations, and local, county and state government, at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce's 53rd Annual Human Resources Conference for a workshop titled "Indiana's Talent Gap and Brain Drain/Gain Workshop — Making Indiana a Magnet for Jobs and Talent."

Some of the questions we will be asking include:

—For the unfilled jobs, what skills are missing or mismatched?

—How can we educate and train our workforce to fit the current and emerging employment opportunities with Indiana companies through effective partnerships between educational institutions and industry?

—How do we better connect job seekers with employers?

—How can we retain the state’s graduates to fill any skills/education gaps?

—What factors beyond the job are important to new entrants into the workforce?

From the discussion at the workshop, we hope to increase our understanding of the issues on the supply side and on the demand side of jobs in Indiana. This will help us more precisely identify priorities and best practices.

This discussion, and others that will undoubtedly follow, will be important, to develop a prosperous and enviable future for our state's companies and citizens. We are working to create a new environment where all business and employment roads lead toward—and not away from—the Crossroads of America.

Suresh Garimella

Executive vice president, Purdue University