Talent Survey Under Way

COLUMBIA, SC – October 6, 2008 – From restaurants, nightlife, and green spaces to a depth and breadth of job opportunities, affordable housing and a safe environment, what will it take to turn Columbia into a place that attracts the creative class?

Take the Columbia Talent Magnet Project survey at www.columbiatalent.com and voice your opinion about our city and what it will take to turn it into a magnet for talent.

The Columbia Talent Magnet Project was created to find ways to appeal to and keep today’s Creative Class in Columbia. The Project is a collaboration among EngenuitySC, the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, New Carolina – SC’s Council on Competitiveness, and Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR).

We are taking the pulse of our community to identify Columbia’s perceived strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. What’s right, what’s wrong, and what opportunities do we have as a region to grow and prosper? Responses from the anonymous survey will form the foundation for dialogue at a Talent Magnet Summit in late 2008.

Talent matters, maybe more than ever before. The Columbia region’s ability to attract and retain young, highly educated, and engaged workers will be one of the major drivers of economic growth.

But Columbia is currently a net exporter of talent, with graduates and young professionals leaving our community for places such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and other cities because of perceived opportunities in those markets.

We have an opportunity to change that. Every year the Columbia region graduates more than 9,000 students from its institutions of higher education. That is 9,000 potential targets to recruit, retain, and absorb into our city’s social, civic, and business infrastructure. This represents the single largest opportunity for transforming the drain into a gain.

Please take a few minutes to participate in the Columbia Talent Magnet Project survey.

The Columbia Talent Magnet Project is committed to developing a dynamic region where education, economic prosperity, community engagement, quality of life, and experiences attract and retain the best and the brightest talent in the region and the country.  This vision will fuel our community’s growth in the new economy.