Hartford Business Journal

17 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 23, 2021 Here's A Glimpse of Our Bank Portfolio... Building banks is a specialty of ours. Over the years, PDS has had the great privilege of working closely and often with some of the area's most respected banks, including TD Bank and Webster Bank. These projects have ranged from new construction to general renovation, including several new free standing buildings, one of which incorporated the latest TD Bank design with LEED Platinum credentials. In addition, we have completed fast track interior fi t-outs with all new fi nishes specifi c to our client's design needs. With in-house disciplines of engineering from civil to mechanical, PDS can design the right building to fi t your budget and timeline. SPOTLIGHT ON: COMMERICAL 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfi eld, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | pdsec.com THINK • PLAN • BUILD 4,000 SF | Wallingford, CT 4,000 SF | Norwalk, CT Various Interior Renovations David Griggs Kelli-Marie Vallieres school system is difficult to top, she added. New initiative, not a new idea The concept of attracting and retaining young professionals is not new to the MetroHartford Alliance. For more than a decade, the regional chamber of commerce and economic development group has worked to retain young professionals to the Hartford region through it's HYPE initiative. HYPE is an acronym for Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs and it has garnered more than 4,000 members. It offers networking and other opportunities to connect young people who live and work in the region. MetroHartford Alliance CEO David Griggs said the state has not done a great job retaining and engaging young professionals but his group is trying to change that. Last month, the Alliance launched a new initiative called AllHart, which focuses on the recruitment of out-of- state young professionals. "The vision for it is to help our companies compete successfully with the talent they need," Griggs said. The initiative was developed after speaking with Alliance investors, such as Travelers, Hartford HealthCare, and Stanley Black & Decker, and asking them what kept them up at night, Griggs said. "And hands-down it was attracting and retaining the talent we need and it didn't matter if it was manufacturing, health care, or insurance — they all said the same thing," Griggs said. "So it became clear that as an organization that we needed to help them solve that problem: how to recruit and retain the people they need to be successful." AllHart organizers will market primarily through social media campaigns, to sell Hartford by showcasing what it's like to live here. They will target college towns or other areas where Alliance investors want to recruit talent. "We need to increase the stickiness that people have to the Hartford region," Griggs said. "And the way you create that stickiness is you help them make this home." "Our region needs to grow," he added. "We need to grow economically but we also need to grow our population." Campus Connecticut The state's Workforce Council, launched in 2019 by Lamont to boost the state's overall workforce development efforts, has approved a strategic plan that aims to keep college graduates from relocating to other states. The plan aims to grow the state's talent pool and attract more businesses by increasing internship experiences for college students. "Employers can play a leading role in retaining homegrown talent while helping to win the war for talent," the plan states, adding that students who gain work-based experiences and work relationships in college are more likely to remain in the state after graduation. AdvanceCT, the state's nonprofit economic development arm, has agreed to sponsor the initiative that will launch its first retention organizations in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford. The initiative will be supported by local economic development entities, according to the plan. The retention organizations will encourage businesses to develop internship programs and sponsor citywide events and activities that will include live music, entertainment and job fairs, to help create a sense of community among college students. The goal is to retain 5% more undergraduates in the three cities in five years. Although the council approved the plan in 2020, it was put on hold due to the pandemic, according to Kelli- Marie Vallieres, the state's chief workforce officer. The initiative is expected to start back this year, she said. The plan was modeled after "Campus Philly," which aims to fuel economic growth in the greater Philadelphia area by marketing the region as a great place to live and work to college students before they graduate. It includes a website and in-person events. From 2000 to 2017, the percentage of college graduates between the ages of 25 and 34 making greater Philadelphia their home increased by 115%, according to the website. Solid start In its first two weeks, CTforMe. com attracted more than 78,000 pageviews from more than 52,000 new site users, according to Castonguay, adding that most of the visitors are coming from neighboring New England states, New York and California. The state invested about $350,000 to develop, launch and promote the CTforMe website and its accompanying Instagram channel, according to a DECD spokesperson. Funding came from the state's marketing budget. "This is only the beginning," Castonguay said. "We're really looking to grow this platform as a resource for not only the young professionals looking for that job, but also for all of our companies in the state to have some place to direct people to for more information about what it's like to live, work and play here in Connecticut."

• Cover