Keys to Attracting YPs

Feb. 1, 2015

The Quest for Northern Michigan’s Next Generation of Workers

In December 2011, Governor Snyder delivered an address to the Michigan Legislature on the state’s "talent disconnect." It was a message he repeated often in the coming years: baby boomers are retiring in huge numbers, college graduates are fleeing the state, and industries like manufacturing and agriculture have jobs to fill, but no skilled workers to fill them.

"To turn Michigan’s economy around, we must retain our talented young professionals," Snyder declared.

In northern Michigan, community leaders have taken that message to heart. Here are three keys that leaders say are crucial to attracting and retaining young professionals in our region – and how northern Michigan is stacking up.

JOBS It’s been a long road to economic recovery in Michigan over the last decade. In December, the state hit a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.7 percent, its lowest in more than eight years, but still almost a full percentage point above the national rate of 5.8 percent.

Up North, Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Doug Luciani says the unemployment problem has become more nuanced; rather that just a lack of jobs, there’s a lack of connection between jobs and workers, he says.

"Some jobs take specific skills not everybody has," explains Luciani, citing numerous high-paying trade and manufacturing positions available in the region that employers are struggling to fill. "With other jobs, it’s the wages or benefits; they’re just not competitive enough to attract a young person here from an urban environment. There’s a reluctance to take a service industry job, for example, or start in a sous-chef position instead of as chef."

For young professionals willing to start their own business – or hold down a day job while pursuing their passion on the side – the region offers more opportunity, says Luciani. "If a YP is looking to get their start, or a foothold in the region, I think the Traverse City area is a great place to come," he says. "You see a lot of entrepreneurial growth here – a lot of start-ups, a lot of capital available. We’re becoming better at diversifying our economy."

Local community colleges are making sure the next generation of workers is equipped with the skills demanded by the marketplace. Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City is in the process of applying for a $2.1 million state grant to purchase equipment required for skilled trades training, such as virtual welding tools, fiber optics, unmanned aerial vehicles and mannequins that simulate patients. At North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, President Cameron Brunet-Koch says the institution is also encouraging more trades and tech training, plus ramping up job placement efforts to connect students with employers.

"For us, it all comes down to jobs," says Brunet-Koch. "Making sure students get plugged into the community so they can stay, or return if they leave. We work hard to make sure they feel connected and know what jobs are available. We’d like to see them be able to buy homes and raise families here."

HOUSING

In Petoskey, Brunet-Koch says finding affordable housing isn’t as much a challenge for students as securing well-paying, year-round jobs, but in Traverse City and surrounding communities, rental housing – and not just the affordable kind – has reached a critical tipping point.

"We need more shared housing at every level," says Luciani. "It used to be you would rent in Lake Ann or Kalkaska or Fife Lake and drive to Traverse City. Now, you can’t even find anything there. There’s nowhere to go. It’s not sustainable for the wages."

Traverse City leaders are revisiting once-controversial proposals like allowing accessory dwelling units – also called granny flats – within city limits, enabling homeowners to create a second income stream and more rental space by taking in boarders in garage apartments or basement units. City leaders are also collaborating on a joint housing task force charged with the goal of exploring publicprivate partnerships that could generate more affordable and low-income housing developments within the region.

Networks Northwest – a 10-county agency providing workforce development and regional planning services – supports these kinds of efforts and points to target market analysis reports released in November that affirm the overwhelming demand for housing in the region.

"There’s a much greater need for rentals now without the rental stock to support it," Regional Planning Department Manager Sarah Lucas told city planning commissioners in January, while speaking in support of accessory dwelling units.

Finding an affordable place to live remains one of the toughest barriers to recruiting young professionals to the region, particularly when so many careers start out with professional internships. Some organizations – like the National Cherry Festival and Porterhouse Productions – help interns find housing. Others, like Hagerty, leave it up to interns to secure their own. Either way, "it’s going to take public and private commitment to fix" the crippling shortage of rental housing in the area, says Luciani.

PLACEMAKING

If northern Michigan faces more challenges than its downstate counterparts in attracting and retaining young professionals due to jobs and housing, it excels in at least one area: placemaking.

"There’s a natural attraction to the area that doesn’t even require any work," affirms Traverse City Chamber Chief Operating Officer Laura Oblinger. "All of our natural assets, all of the festivals and events and amenities in the region"¦these are attracting people and bringing young talent here."

Luciani agrees. "If we’ve done anything right as a region in northern Michigan, we’ve never killed that part of it – what makes us special," he says.

It’s something the Chamber sees proven through its Young Professionals program, which boasts 700 members and has committees dedicated to helping young workers integrate into Traverse City – many of whom are natives looking to move back.

"If people don’t know the area, we might be just a little better than average in terms of recruiting," says Luciani. "But for young professionals that have a natural affinity for the area – who grew up here or grew up vacationing here – we’re terrific at getting them back and keeping them here."

Brunet-Koch sees similarities in the Petoskey area. She points to Jennifer Granholm’s Cool Cities Initiative and Richard Florida’s teachings on the creative class as the beginning of a wave of communities embracing placemaking as a competitive economic tool.

"A lot has happened in Petoskey in the last several years," says Brunet-Koch, pointing to a proliferation of shops, breweries, festivals and community events. "It’s brought a lot more energy and excitement to the community."

A public transportation network – long absent and sorely needed in Petoskey – could be the next big step in the area’s placemaking efforts, says Brunet-Koch.

Luciani notes that, as technology makes it easier for people to work from wherever they want to live, and climate change begins to affect other areas of the country, northern Michigan – located "on the largest fresh supply of fresh water in the world with a predictable four seasons and high quality of life" – will be well-positioned to attract young workers. He and other regional leaders are hard at work lobbying Lansing to extend our region the tax incentives and development deals that cities like Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Detroit are able to utilize.

"Our message to the state is: one size doesn’t fit all," says Luciani. "When you’re looking at policies and tax breaks and incentives, the rural areas of the state are different [than downstate cities] and can’t be treated the same. We’re working to make sure northern Michigan is well-positioned"¦so we can be competitive in attracting young talent, too."