This story originally appeared in the Nov. 25 edition of the weekly LINK Reader. To see this story and others sooner, subscribe to the weekly newspaper here.
A demographic drought is at the forefront of economic discussions in Northern Kentucky, which makes attracting and retaining talent in the regional workforce a critical focal point.
Older adults are projected to outnumber kids for the first time in the country’s history in less than two decades, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2034, people aged 65 and over are expected to reach 77 million while children under age 18 will reach 76.5 million.
For Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Brent Cooper, the message hits home.
“We are in a national and international battle for talent. It’s not just our community, it’s every community across the country,” Cooper told LINK nky. “Everyone is talking about this from a business and civic leader standpoint. We’re going to have to convince our community to make the business-case as to why attracting and retaining talent is such a priority.”
Cooper argues the key to maintaining the region’s vitality lies in attracting and retaining talent, and it should be the top priority of the Northern Kentucky business community. In order to achieve quality of life and maintain reasonable growth, Cooper thinks Northern Kentucky needs continued investment in health, education, transportation and community vibrancy.
“We have to grow the talent we have, there’s no question about it, but we also have to attract talent,” Cooper said. “We have to make businesses better businesses, so that they can grow their talent. That is what the Chamber of Commerce is talking about every day.”
Now that the regional business community has identified the problem, its organizations are formulating a cohesive response to address the downsides of the phenomenon.
Dustin Lester, vice president of community consulting for Lightcast, a company that utilizes data to create hiring strategies, presented Northern Kentucky business leaders with strategies to create a better training infrastructure and hiring environment.
“It’s an important thing to the residents of the region to provide new upscaling, rescaling and retraining opportunities, more career career growth potential, but then on the other side of it, you need a strong talent base to support existing businesses so you can have potential to attract new businesses into the region,” Lester said.
For employers, Lester suggested adopting flexible, creative work arrangements; making the recruitment process simpler and more inclusive; letting workers grow into their jobs through targeted training; consciously working to retain employees.
Employers aren’t the only important party crucial to bucking the trend. Regional economic organizations and business advocacy groups play a key part in fostering a business environment that promotes growth, financial literacy and quality hiring environments.
For these organizations, Lester suggested they use strategies such as strengthening their understanding of regional talent; using a data-driven approach to attract talent from outside the region; aligning local education programs to meet the needs of the market.
Cooper said the chamber has already begun implementing these strategies. GROW NKY, which stands for Growing Regional Outcomes through Workforce, is a workforce collective made up of business leaders throughout key regional industries.
Their primary goal is to work collaboratively to leverage the region’s assets to grow, attract and retain a globally competitive workforce, Cooper said. GROW NKY follows a “cradle-to-career” model, which aims to provide the region with reliable education and skills training from childhood to adulthood.
“We’ve been talking about the importance of early childhood education, childcare, quality childcare, the importance of work based learning, co-ops, internships, apprenticeships, the importance of getting all workers of all available workers working so removing barriers to employment,” Cooper said.
Besides growing members of the workforce inside the market, re-engaging second-chance, disabled and disengaged workers will provide employers and job-seekers with more opportunities, he added. Applicants who were formerly incarcerated are a key audience in this, as well as folks who have unemployed for a long time, like veterans and caregivers rejoining the workforce.
“These individuals may need a little bit more flexibility and accommodation to bring them back into the workforce,” Lester said. “Obviously, there’s certainly plenty to do but employers can be flexible and more engaging as well.”
Lester suggests employers accommodate and use out-of-the-box ideas to re-engage these workers.
Northern Kentucky isn’t the only place battling with the effects of demographic drought. Chicago, Charlotte, Detroit, and other metropolitan areas are facing the same wave of retirees, meaning Northern Kentucky has to set itself apart from the pack.
For Cooper, advocating regional infrastructure improvements, including foot and bike paths, and continuing to invest in healthcare and education will help Northern Kentucky stand out when competing for workers outside the region.
