ABI Foundation: Working to Keep Iowans in Iowa
November 9, 2018 | Vermeer strong
There are initiatives throughout the state working to develop and prepare our high school students, college students and young professionals for successful careers in Iowa. Your company is most likely engaged in outreach and recruitment programs, designed to encourage students to add your name to their list of potential future employers. The competition is fierce for skilled workers across our state, so gauging the interest of these young people needs to begin early, and the cultivation of these relationships over time is imperative to attracting and retaining this talent in the future.
A large part of our mission at the ABI Foundation is to build and strengthen Iowa’s workforce. We do this through programs and initiatives that impact the lives of Iowans at every stage, from students to seasoned professionals. We’ve found the main component causing young people to look outside the state for opportunities after graduation is simple: awareness.
Below are survey results from our high school (Business Horizons) and college (Leadership Iowa University) students who took part in our 2018 programs. These students come from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and geographic locations across the state. They are our best resource for information and trends that pertain to their age groups.
Students are simply not aware of all of the amazing opportunities for them here in Iowa, oftentimes in their own backyard. After just five days, their awareness grew tremendously, which equates to more students knowing they can fulfill their goals here in our great state.
As Iowans, we tend to be humble and quietly accept our successes while we work toward the next goal. Iowa: It’s time to be loud! Let’s continue to work together to show these talented students how successful they can be in Iowa.
STUDENTS WERE ASKED IF THEY FELT THEY HAD A STRONG AWARENESS OF OPPORTUNITIES IN IOWA
Their response was ranked on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree)
Business Horizons (high school) students who answered agree and strongly agree:
BEFORE: 40%
AFTER: 94%
Leadership Iowa University (college) students who answered agree and strongly agree:
BEFORE: 35%
AFTER: 100%