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Forget about lithium, helium or magnesium as scarce resources. People with talent, curiosity and a strong work ethic are our most valuable resource.
After 17 months as Indiana secretary of commerce, I’m more convinced about that than ever. Indiana’s challenge isn’t unique—49 other states and countries worldwide are competing for next-gen industry and high-wage careers of the future. And while Indiana’s focus here is better than most, we must remain vigilant and proactive, as the competition for talent has become a zero-sum game.
For all its current volatility, the U.S. economy will come roaring back. An estimated $1 trillion of domestic advanced-manufacturing investment is searching for a home, and the Midwest and Southeast are in its crosshairs. International momentum toward onshoring and reshoring will likely bring another $1 trillion of national industry growth over the next decade. Companies are already hiring qualified workers faster than they’ve been entering the workforce. Now, with the projected influx of STEM-intensive investment, New York-based consultant McKinsey & Co. predicts the United States might face a shortage of 300,000 engineers by 2030.
One competitor meeting this challenge head-on is China. Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology reports that, in 2020, China awarded seven times more bachelor-level engineering degrees than the U.S. did, and by 2025, it will produce nearly double our number of doctorates.
Fortunately, Indiana is leaning in with creative strategies to catalyze population and workforce growth:
◗ Our READI program leverages $500 million to attract over $7 billion in outside investment aimed at improving Indiana’s quality of life and increasing in-migration and student retention. READI’s success has inspired leaders statewide to call for an additional $500 million to further invigorate our communities.
◗ The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has also encouraged our universities to create specialized curricula to train undergraduates to contribute immediately to future-focused companies.
◗ We’re also investing in initiatives that offer incentives to remote workers who relocate here.
◗ And we’ve increased our investment in TechPoint’s internship recruitment program, Xtern, that places software-savvy students with high-growth tech companies.
Initiatives like these will have an impact, but government can’t do it all; we need our corporate partners to do their part. It can’t be business as usual. The recruitment market is different today than it was 20 years ago. Students are different. Employers need to step up, start earlier, think differently and help lead solutions for hiring and retaining Hoosier youth.
I recently met with a group of STEM undergrads from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology—the No. 1-ranked undergraduate engineering school in the country for the 24th straight year.
We talked about their post-graduation plans. While most were open to staying in Indiana, many had already accepted jobs in competitor states because that’s where they’d been recruited. Of the 256 companies at Rose-Hulman’s recent career fair, only 43 (17%) were headquartered in Indiana. A clear miss by our corporate community.
Our business community is hungry for engineering talent, yet Hoosier companies are allowing out-of-state competitors to mine our most precious resource.
Eli Lilly and Co. gets it. It just announced a $42.5 million commitment with Purdue University to establish a pharmaceutical manufacturing scholarship program, offering up to 100 students a year full tuition with a guaranteed internship. The program will focus on underrepresented students who have overcome socioeconomic or educational disadvantages or are among the first in their family to attend college.
In a competition so crucial to our future, the state, our universities, not-for-profits and corporate partners must continue to find, fund and implement innovative solutions to prioritize the recruitment and retention of Indiana’s talented youth.
There’s no time to lose. The stakes couldn’t be higher.•
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Chambers is Indiana’s secretary of commerce. He founded and is CEO of Indianapolis-based real estate firm Buckingham Cos.
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There is no magic formula or ‘creative strategy’ necessary to recruit and retain more talent. Shhhh. I’ll tell you a secret. Increate compensation. Of course, no company in Indiana is interested in that strategy. Good luck.
***Increase compensation.