A second issue which America’s small and medium-sized metropolitan regions must address is that of talent. Talent comes in many varieties but includes:

• Retaining graduates within the region as a knowledge base and competitive advantage for the future.
• Ensuring a technical workforce adaptive to changes in local industry products and processes.
• Creating or attracting a managerial “serial entrepreneurial” workforce with experience in managing, financing, marketing, sales, and regulatory issues facing the technology-focused startup enterprise.
• Having in place the courses and curriculum requisite for the workers needed by industry.

Regions vary in the degree to which these four interrelated talent issues affect them. For instance, some regions realize it makes more sense to retain the workforce it is creating rather than having to “regain” it once it migrates. Across the nation, the youngest age groups, particularly those with bachelor’s degree or higher, are migrating upon graduation to where they would like to work based on quality of life considerations, and then seeking employment once they are settled in this new location. Central Indiana, with the support of its technology trade associations, philanthropic support, and higher education institutions, is attempting to stem this outflow and ensure that more information technology students remain in the state after graduation by initiating internship programs and college job fairs with the region’s firms.

Some regions are giving more attention to forming a core of serial entrepreneurs. Two examples are the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse’s Enterprise Corps and the St. Louis BioGenerator’s executive-in-residence program.

K-12 remains a challenge in many regions in trying to link its efforts to post-high school programs, but will be increasingly necessary if a region is to have both a sufficient talent pool and the ability to retain that pool.

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