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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, September 1, 2010
How I See It
How to keep Generation Y in New England after college
By Jenny Floren, CEO of Experience Inc.
UMass President Jack Wilson on Entrepreneurship
MHT's Galen Moore: Nerds and geeks flock to Boston conventions
Amy Poehler. Clarence Thomas. Jack Welch. Barack and Michelle Obama. What do these leaders of entertainment, business, law and politics have in common?
All resided in the Bay State for their undergraduate or graduate education: Amy Poehler (Boston College, Class of 1993), Clarence Thomas (The College of the Holy Cross, Class of 1971), Jack Welch (University of Massachusetts, Class of 1957) and President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (Harvard University Law School, Classes of 1991 and 1988, respectively).
With the start of each school year, 350,000 students flock to Greater Boston, or as Oliver Wendell Holmes (Harvard, Class of 1861) dubbed this same region, “the Hub of the Universe.”
But, as these five famous graduates demonstrate to some degree, after three or four Beanpot tournaments and Head of the Charles races, and countless lectures and late night study sessions, many of these Massachusetts-educated students move out of the area: heading back home to be closer to their folks, attracted by the bright lights of New York City or looking to catch the entrepreneurial spirit in Silicon Valley.
As a New Englander, I approach this phenomenon with a measure of humor (c’mon, the winters aren’t that bad), but, as someone who owns a business in Massachusetts, the trend is worrisome. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, all six New England states occupied prominent spots on the list of states losing population in the 25-to-34 age bracket between 1990 and 2006.
As I look to make strategic hires within my own organization, I recognize that I have one of the greatest pools of Gen Y talent in the world right in my backyard. So the question is: how do we keep them here and happy?
Through my work with Generation Y, Fortune 500 companies and major academic institutions for the past decade and a half, I’ve come to believe the key is to effectively bridge the gap between academia and the “real world.” It is an area, fortunately, where Massachusetts is leading the way. A couple of great examples include:
• The Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX), which recently launched a “Recruit and Retain” initiative in order to promote the growing new-media industry in the state (and to counter the misconception that the West Coast has a monopoly on cool innovation).
• Stay in MA, a scholarship program for Massachusetts-based college students funded by Flybridge Capital Partners, is a fascinating program that fosters entrepreneurship and innovation between students and the local business community by providing financial assistance to students who express interest in attending the many groundbreaking events of technology and business organizations in the region.
What’s more, as the entire country emerges from the financial turmoil of the past two years, Ben Bernanke’s “green shoots” may be signs of an early spring in New England. A number of widely respected national corporations are hiring in Massachusetts, and, better yet, Massachusetts employees are some of the best paid in the nation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total cost (salary, benefits and other expenses) of a private sector employee averaged $38.62 per hour in Greater Boston (compared to Silicon Valley, $38.52 and New York City, $35.18).
While Amy and Clarence may not be headed back to the area, I’m confident that the next great innovators are in our midst—at Harvard’s Coop buying a coffee or catching the Green Line to class—as I write this. With a concerted effort from our local business community, we’ll be able to plug them into the working world while they’re still in school, paving the way for a new class of grads that will continue to call Massachusetts home after they pick up their diplomas.
Jenny Floren is author of “The Innovation Generation, The Gen Y Way: How New Thinking Can Reclaim The American Dream.”
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