June 29, 2004: Focus
Groups Forming to Identify “Cool Factors” in Oswego
County
OSWEGO, NY--
The Workforce Development Board of Oswego County (WDB) and Operation
Oswego County (OOC), in conjunction with Next Generation Consulting
of Madison, Wis., will convene four focus groups in July to identify
strategies to attract and retain young, talented employees throughout
Oswego County.
“With
an increasingly competitive market for talented and educated professionals,
Oswego County must define the unique regional characteristics that
make it attractive to the next generation and position itself so
that it will appeal to its target demographic,” said Nancy
Bellow, WDB director.
According to Next Generation,
Oswego County will likely be affected by the following national
labor trends in the coming years:
- The next generation of talent (“Generation
X,” born 1961-1981) is smaller in size than their “Baby
Boomer” (born 1942-1960) predecessors;
- By 2006, two workers will leave the workforce
for every one entering; (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics);
- By 2010, there will be a shortage of
10.3 million workers across all employment categories; (source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics);
- Three out of four young professionals
under the age of 28 place more importance on the quality of the
community than the availability of jobs (source: Next Generation
Consulting, February 2002);
- “Generation X” is the first
generation to have deeply imbedded skills sets in technology,
which makes them a highly desirable demographic to Oswego County
employers; and
- The influx of minority talent is and
will continue to cause a marked change in the complexion and culture
of the Oswego County region.
“For Oswego County to
attract the next generation of knowledge workers and innovation
economy entrepreneurs, it must place as much emphasis on its quality
of life as its economic incentives. Oswego County has many of the
amenities – a gorgeous climate, access to university research
and culture, and a system of parks and trails – that strongly
resonate with young professionals looking for a ‘cool community,’”
said Rebecca Ryan, president of Next Generation Consulting Inc.
Bellow explained that the focus
groups will gauge participants’ ideas on what makes Oswego
County competitive (referred to as “cool factors”),
and will be designed to mirror the diversity of Oswego County's
population, geographical locations and workforce. The groups will
also represent those who are educated (post-high school training
and/or degrees) and mid-careerists.
The initiative is part of a
strategic planning process that began last February with the interactive
public issues forum on local workforce, economic development and
education issues titled “Economic and Workforce Issues: Today
and Tomorrow,” held at SUNY Oswego.
“This joint initiative
between the WDB and its focus on human capital, and OOC with its
focus on economic development, is a proactive and aggressive step
toward identifying, assessing and developing strategies to enhance
our capacity to meet the human resource needs of current and future
employers in the county,” said L. Michael Treadwell, CEcD,
OOC executive director.
For more information about the
focus groups, call the WDB at SUNY Oswego’s Center for Business
and Community Development at 315-312-3492.
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