Group looks to keep graduates in Capital Region Wednesday, March 19, 2008 By James Schlett (Contact) Gazette Reporter
ALBANY — Tired of seeing recent graduates flee from the Capital Region, area schools and business organizations are teaming up to call them back. Less than four years after the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce formed a networking organization for local young professionals called GenNEXT, that group is looking to pull more members from outside the region’s borders. The chamber Wednesday announced at Albany International Airport the launch of a new Web site and a marketing campaign in which the airport and 14 area colleges and universities will participate. The initiative called Discover Tech Valley, Rediscover Home will highlight recent advancements in the region’s labor market and cultural scenes. Schools such as the University at Albany, Schenectady County Community College and Union College will participate in the initiative by featuring Discover Tech Valley, Rediscover Home advertisements in their alumni publications. Albany International will place a kiosk in its Latham facility promoting the region’s community assets and benefits. The initiative’s Web site is http://www.discovertechvalley.org, which features a link to a new job networking program called Career Connect. GenNEXT has over 500 members, up from 200 in early 2005. “It would have been really helpful to have something like this when I moved back to the area,” said Candace Adams Grossjohann, an East Greenbush native who relocated to the area in 2001 after moving away for school. After graduating from Columbia High School in 1991, Grossjohann studied psychology and education at Hofstra University on Long Island. From there, she moved to the University of Rhode Island to earn masters and doctorate degrees in psychology. But the 31-year-old psychologist moved to Delmar in 2001 and now works as an early intervention official for Albany County’s Department for Children, Youth and Families. The defunct Higher Education Business Roundtable, which was run out of UAlbany, several years ago launched a similar campaign geared toward attracting graduates back to the area. But that initiative headed by the group of local college officials failed because it lacked the support of an organization that would “give it the legs it needs,” said Jeanne Neffe, president of The Sage Colleges. “What was missing there was we didn’t have a connection to an organization like GenNEXT,” she said.
CAPITAL REGION Biggest upstate counties continue to lose people BY MICHAEL HILL The Associated Press
Upstate New York’s largest counties continued to lose people last year, according to census estimates released Thursday. New York state’s population nudged up by 15,741 in the 12 months ending July 2007 to 19.3 million people, according to the yearly estimates from the U.S. Census. Population changes among New York counties over the year followed a pattern that has been consistent in recent years: growth in and around New York City and losses in many upstate areas. Orange County in the Hudson Valley has been the fastest- growing county in the state since 2000 and remained so last year with a growth rate of 0.82 percent. Neighboring Sullivan County was No. 2 with a 0.72 percent growth rate over the year. The mid-Hudson Valley experienced a population boom over much of the decade, fueled in part by post-Sept. 11 jitters in New York City and sky-high home prices closer to the city. The area’s real estate market has reportedly cooled recently, though. New York City grew by 0.29 percent over the year. Among the population losers were the counties that include Buffalo (Erie -0.54 percent), Rochester (Monroe -0.03 percent), Syracuse (Onondaga -0.25 percent) and Albany (Albany -0.11 percent). Albany is the only county in that group to post a net population gain since 2000. There were losses in New York’s rural counties too, with Cattaraugus County’s drop of 497 people giving it a state-high loss rate of 0.62 percent. Politicians upstate have been trying for years to stanch population losses as more people settle in the South and the West. The so-called brain drain of young, college-educated people is a particular concern. While some counties in the Southwest experienced dramatic change over the year — growth rates were as high as 8 percent in Texas — no county in New York saw a percentage gain or loss of more than 1 percent. The population estimates are based on records of births, deaths and migration
LATHAM GenNEXT campaign aims to lure employees to region BY JAMES SCHLETT Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter James Schlett at 395-3040 or jschlett@dailygazette.net
Come home. Tired of seeing recent graduates flee the Capital Region, area schools and business organizations are teaming up to call them back. Less than four years after the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce formed a networking organization for local young professionals called GenNEXT, that group is looking to pull more members from outside the region’s borders. The chamber Wednesday announced at Albany International Airport the launch of a new Web site and a marketing campaign in which the airport and 14 area colleges and universities will participate. The initiative called “Discover Tech Valley, Rediscover Home” will highlight recent advancements in the region’s labor market and cultural scenes. Schools such as the University at Albany, Schenectady County Community College and Union College will participate in the initiative. They will feature Discover Tech Valley, Rediscover Home promotions in their alumni publications. A kiosk in the airport will promote the region’s community assets and benefits. The initiative’s Web site is http://www.discovertechvalley.org, which features a link to a new job networking program called Career Connect. GenNEXT has more than 500 members, up from 200 in early 2005. “It would have been really helpful to have something like this when I moved back to the area,” said Candace Adams Grossjohann, an East Greenbush native who moved away for school. After graduating from Columbia High School, Grossjohann studied psychology and education at Hofstra University on Long Island. From there, she transferred to the University of Rhode Island to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in psychology. But the 31-year-old psychologist moved to Delmar in 2001 and now works as an early intervention official for Albany County’s Department for Children, Youth and Families. GenNEXT’s Discover Tech Valley, Rediscover Home is the second marketing campaign launched this week geared toward restoring consumer confidence in the Capital Region’s economy. They come as the nation’s economy appears to be heading toward a recession. The Capital Region Builders and Remodelers Association on Tuesday announced a campaign that will highlight new economic opportunities emerging in the area. The now-defunct Higher Education Business Roundtable, which was run out of the University at Albany, several years ago launched a similar campaign geared toward attracting graduates back to the area. But the group of local college officials’ initiative failed because it lacked the support of an organization that would “give it the legs it needs,” said Jeanne Neff, president of The Sage Colleges. “What was missing there was we didn’t have a connection to an organization like GenNEXT,” she said. A recent Marvin & Co. survey of businesses throughout the greater Capital Region found that employers’ fourth-greatest concern for 2008 was finding qualified workers, trailing taxes, energy prices and health care costs. Chamber Chairman Michael Hickey said many graduates who moved away from the Albany area may not be aware of the new employment opportunities that have emerged since they left. “We do have an equation where supply equals demand,” said Hickey.
Gee why don't they try to lower taxes to interest businesses in moving here and bring with them much needed jobs instead of all the do you want fries with that jobs that are all we have to offer these graduates.
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