By Laurie Burstein
More than 200 people from throughout the IT community, including professionals from the public and private sectors, educators, college students and entrepreneurs, gathered on June 20th for Tech Talent Net, a symposium sponsored by Greater St. Louis Works. The regional workforce initiative rolled-out its strategy plan based on regional dialogue and input from almost 400 people to ensure that St. Louis is a great place for IT talent.
Blair Forlaw, director of Greater St. Louis Works at the RCGA said, "The purpose of the symposium was to report back to the community who helped develop our strategy and invite participation. We found a real sense of ownership among all the participants and we are moving ahead with an action plan."
A new and enhanced version of the region's IT Talent Strategy Map was presented to showcase nine approaches to strengthen the IT talent pool of the St. Louis region. Each strategy was identified as a key concern by St. Louis area stakeholders who participated in Greater St. Louis Works' outreach process over the past year.
Forlaw explained, "Not only do we have nine initiatives, we have a team behind each one who represent public, private and not-for-profit organizations that will lead the effort."
She continued, "What is so exciting is that we have partners within the community who will be working to make sure things happen. We will build on our organizational and institutional assets, as well as personal relationships to improve the future in the IT sector."
Some of the strategies are well underway. One example is the Bounce Back Initiative which helps IT professionals who have lost jobs. A collaborative process is already in place that includes a local resource guide developed with input from 20 recently dislocated IT professionals. These professionals identified the most pressing questions for individuals like themselves making job changes. Public and private sector outplacement centers and professional associations are distributing this guide.
In addition, 25 St. Louis corporations participated in a Human Capital Performance Survey undertaken with the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers Saratoga last year. The findings of this survey will provide the starting point for the Greater St. Louis Works' initiative to strengthen human capital performance, which will be implemented in cooperation with the St. Louis Chapter of the Human Resources Planning Society.
One of the highlights of the conference was the "Wiki Groups"—small group meetings that focused on the five characteristics of a great IT workforce: prepared, productive, diverse, dynamic, and resilient. Each group was facilitated by a volunteer organizational development professional from a different St. Louis area company and were assisted by college students who are in IT, computer science, and related fields.
"The Wiki Groups were a big success and a collaborative process to expand our regional knowledge about the characteristics of a great IT workforce," Forlaw said. "We began the process at the conference and will continue the dialogue on website-based discussion boards."
The symposium also featured a presentation by Rob Preston, editor-in-chief of InformationWeek, who outlined current forces shaping talent supply and demand in the global marketplace.
"Most employers large and small understand that technology drives business today and that the IT talent shortage is a very real issue," Preston said. "What impressed me about St. Louis is that they are doing something about it."
Preston adds, "In the short term it's up to companies working together as a community to take a systematic approach with practical steps to address the IT worker shortage. I see St. Louis doing that."
Greater St. Louis Works is staffed by
the St. Louis RCGA, in cooperation with WorkforceStLouis2.0, the IT Coalition of Innovate St. Louis, the Workforce Investment Boards of St. Louis County, the City of
St. Louis, St. Charles County, and other state and local partners. Funding is provided through a grant to the St. Louis County Department of Human Service's Division of Workforce Development by the Missouri Division of Workforce Development.
Forlaw said Greater St. Louis Works is implementing the nine-point strategy throughout the remainder of the year and will report back with measurable progress on each of the nine initiatives.
We now have a strategy created by the IT community that will be carried forward. It's an opportunity for action by all sectors including academic institutions, professional associations, and corporations throughout Missouri and Illinois. We encourage everyone and anyone who sees tech-savvy talent at the core of St. Louis' economic future to get involved."
(9 Strategies PDF)
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