Comments on: How do we bring young people to Midland and how downtown works into the equation… http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/2009/08/11/how-do-we-bring-young-people-to-midland-and-how-downtown-works-into-the-equation/ Just another LIVE Midland weblog Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:21:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: lishakat http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/2009/08/11/how-do-we-bring-young-people-to-midland-and-how-downtown-works-into-the-equation/#comment-10 lishakat Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:54:53 +0000 http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/?p=10#comment-10 You can also support the Young Professionals of Midland who work hard to make a difference in the community and be a recruiting tool for area businesses. We have developed partnerships with many Midland businesses to help welcome and acclimate their new employees to Midland. Most recently we have partnered with Texas Tech Physicians Group to welcome their new physicians. We have business luncheons, social events, a charity golf tournament and even an event to bring ALL of the area young professional groups together in Midland and Odessa. We are a good sounding board for many of these questions. Once a year our board sits down with the City Council to discuss many community issues such as this one. And a few of our board members actually designed the Vision 2020 website and many of us are contributors. The Young Professionals always need sponsors to continue to grow our organization and reach out to more businesses to help in their recruiting efforts. We want to help out in any way we can!! We'll have a new site up soon, but for more information you can check out: www.ypmidland.org. You can also support the Young Professionals of Midland who work hard to make a difference in the community and be a recruiting tool for area businesses. We have developed partnerships with many Midland businesses to help welcome and acclimate their new employees to Midland. Most recently we have partnered with Texas Tech Physicians Group to welcome their new physicians.

We have business luncheons, social events, a charity golf tournament and even an event to bring ALL of the area young professional groups together in Midland and Odessa. We are a good sounding board for many of these questions. Once a year our board sits down with the City Council to discuss many community issues such as this one. And a few of our board members actually designed the Vision 2020 website and many of us are contributors.

The Young Professionals always need sponsors to continue to grow our organization and reach out to more businesses to help in their recruiting efforts. We want to help out in any way we can!! We’ll have a new site up soon, but for more information you can check out: http://www.ypmidland.org.

]]> By: Stewart Doreen http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/2009/08/11/how-do-we-bring-young-people-to-midland-and-how-downtown-works-into-the-equation/#comment-9 Stewart Doreen Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:23:51 +0000 http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/?p=10#comment-9 You bring up a good point which might go past the type of young person we want to bring in. Sure "all of the above" is the standard answer, but when you get down to it, they want to bring in the college graduate and/or the person who can immediately contribute to the workforce without having to flip burgers/wash dishes. We assume those will be there. Some might say we need to target our economic development efforts to get more bang for the buck, to really make it matter. Forget the wide net and say we are specifically for this industry or that industry, hopefully playing to the strengths of this community. In doing so we might also be able to target a certain group of young people because we know what type of businesses we want to bring in and we know what type of person/graduate we want to bring in. You bring up a good point which might go past the type of young person we want to bring in. Sure “all of the above” is the standard answer, but when you get down to it, they want to bring in the college graduate and/or the person who can immediately contribute to the workforce without having to flip burgers/wash dishes. We assume those will be there.
Some might say we need to target our economic development efforts to get more bang for the buck, to really make it matter. Forget the wide net and say we are specifically for this industry or that industry, hopefully playing to the strengths of this community.
In doing so we might also be able to target a certain group of young people because we know what type of businesses we want to bring in and we know what type of person/graduate we want to bring in.

]]> By: Ospurt http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/2009/08/11/how-do-we-bring-young-people-to-midland-and-how-downtown-works-into-the-equation/#comment-8 Ospurt Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:28:39 +0000 http://livemidlandtexas.com/views_4th_estate/?p=10#comment-8 I have been on an official committee which worked to help answer this very question about Midland for over a year. I wouldn't call the committee unique, committees like the one I was on have popped up every so often to answer this question of bringing young people to (or back to) Midland for decades. In studying the issue, (and examining my own return to Midland right out of A&M) I've learned that there are many things that drive a young person's decision to locate in Midland. However, you point out what every committee knows is by far the number one driver "the job is the place to start." However, let us back this issue up a little bit, because you have already started your brainstorming on this issue with an assumption. You may not have caught it, but it lurks below the surface of the issue, and is often neglected by many decision makers and visionaries: Exactly who are these "young people" we trying to attract? or more to the point, just who are we trying to attract with Tax Dollars? College Grads? Laborers? Craftsmen? Artists? Professionals? In many ways you can't even begin to talk about what to do, until you figure out who you're after, and that is complicated when it is a governmental (or quasi-governmental) entity trying to decide which group to incent, or more pointedly, which group to discriminate against. So many time the answer comes back "all of them" and thus the plans are too broad to be executed and measured. Then there is this to consider, the Civilian Labor Force gains in Midland have been spectacular the last two years. Combine this with MISD enrollment and the waiting lists for daycare, and I think it is safe to say that Midland has enjoyed a pretty large influx of young workers in the past couple of years. Seems the oil field jobs helped achieve the braod goal of bring young workers to Midland already, or are these young workers not the target? Might I suggest you think about the Who and the Why....and then look at the issue again. I have been on an official committee which worked to help answer this very question about Midland for over a year. I wouldn’t call the committee unique, committees like the one I was on have popped up every so often to answer this question of bringing young people to (or back to) Midland for decades.

In studying the issue, (and examining my own return to Midland right out of A&M) I’ve learned that there are many things that drive a young person’s decision to locate in Midland. However, you point out what every committee knows is by far the number one driver “the job is the place to start.”

However, let us back this issue up a little bit, because you have already started your brainstorming on this issue with an assumption. You may not have caught it, but it lurks below the surface of the issue, and is often neglected by many decision makers and visionaries: Exactly who are these “young people” we trying to attract? or more to the point, just who are we trying to attract with Tax Dollars? College Grads? Laborers? Craftsmen? Artists? Professionals? In many ways you can’t even begin to talk about what to do, until you figure out who you’re after, and that is complicated when it is a governmental (or quasi-governmental) entity trying to decide which group to incent, or more pointedly, which group to discriminate against. So many time the answer comes back “all of them” and thus the plans are too broad to be executed and measured.

Then there is this to consider, the Civilian Labor Force gains in Midland have been spectacular the last two years. Combine this with MISD enrollment and the waiting lists for daycare, and I think it is safe to say that Midland has enjoyed a pretty large influx of young workers in the past couple of years. Seems the oil field jobs helped achieve the braod goal of bring young workers to Midland already, or are these young workers not the target?

Might I suggest you think about the Who and the Why….and then look at the issue again.

]]>