By Laurie Burstein
Although there are almost 50,000 information technology professionals already at work in companies throughout our region, Greater St. Louis Works wants even more IT workers to find their niche in St. Louis. That means attracting, engaging and retaining tech-savvy, mobile young people, as well as seasoned professionals. Greater St. Louis Works brings together a diverse group of public and private sector partners to make sure St. Louis attracts and keeps the IT talent we need to compete in the global economy.
Spearheaded by the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association, partners supporting the mission of Greater St. Louis Works include the RCGA, 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.
Blair Forlaw, project manager for Greater St. Louis Works at RCGA, says the impetus for starting the group was to make sure St. Louis has a process in place to keep the best and brightest in our region.
“We know that human capital is our region’s most important value-producing asset,” Forlaw says. “Greater St. Louis Works is focused on developing a regional IT talent strategy that includes reaching out to as many groups and individuals as we can to develop a coordinated action plan.” She adds, “We’ve created a process that is very inclusive and to my knowledge, this is the only group that brings together a large cross-section from business, education and the public sector to concentrate on IT workforce issues.”
Not long after Greater St. Louis Works was formed in July of 2007, it launched a formidable project to assess the strengths and challenges facing the region’s IT workforce. The starting point was a series of interviews, discussion groups and Knowledge Exchange forums.
By the time phase I of the project was completed in early January 2008, more than 260 IT professionals, college students, corporate executives, human resource leaders, educators, employment service providers, and government technology experts had participated in developing a comprehensive assessment of the challenges facing metro St. Louis. These challenges focused on immediate needs related to talent attraction, development, and retention.
The results have been compiled in a 50 page report, Technicians, Technologists, Analysts, and More: St. Louis Plans for a Great IT Workforce. It’s findings have also been summarized in a visual schematic that depicts talent flow within the regional economy.
“There’s much to grab our attention,” Forlaw says of findings. “New technologies changing faster than schools can keep up, persistent anxieties about off-shoring, the rise of the contingent workforce, the imperative of career-long learning, the demands of managing creative techies, the premium on experienced professionals, the competition with New York and Silicon Valley, and more.”
Forlaw adds, “The visual portrays these as bottlenecks in the IT talent flow—targets for improvement in a system that is essential to St. Louis’ economic future.”
Another important task for Greater St. Louis Works is an outreach effort to hear from various groups including business leaders, educators, IT professionals, employment service providers, students, and others to gather a wide range of observations about issues impacting IT talent needs.
One such forum was held recently where almost 90 people from 50 St. Louis companies were involved in the Greater
St. Louis Works knowledge exchange on Technology and Diversity: Engaging Talent through a Culture of Inclusion.
Panelists and participants were asked to bring forward suggestions about how St. Louis can achieve a diverse technology community. Participants agreed there is a very talented, strong base of ethnically diverse IT individuals here, and that it is a major asset we can build on.
“Workplaces where there is a high degree of innovation and creativity are workplaces that engage bright people who represent a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives,” she says. “In this global economy, it’s important to have diverse workplaces and we are talking with many companies and working with groups like the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative on ways they can bring even more diversity into the IT workplace.”
Forlaw continues, “As part of our outreach, we are also talking with historically black colleges and have held focus groups with minority students who grew up in St. Louis and went to schools outside the region. They gave us some helpful ideas and perspective on how we can attract and retain more minorities.”
Two other key areas Greater St. Louis Works is focusing on is making sure there is a system in place to: 1) fill positions for experienced workers and, 2) work with IT professionals who lose jobs to quickly find them new positions in the region.
Another key value to emerge from outreach efforts and forums is that IT talent can really make a name for themselves in our region, no matter what their background.
Michael West, Business Development Executive with Ameren and a member of the audience at the recent Forum, concluded that this means we can offer talented techies greater opportunities to “be somebody,” something that everyone wants—whatever ethnicity, race, gender, or generation they may be.
“In New York, in Silicon Valley, in Chicago, even the best and brightest can fade into the woodwork. But in St. Louis, individuals have a better chance of being recognized and engaged,” West said.
Greater St. Louis Works is on schedule to complete its
strategy plan by the end of June. For more information,
contact Blair Forlaw at the RCGA at (314) 444-1149 or visit the website at greaterstlouisworks.org.
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