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By Kym Reinstadler | MiBiz
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WEST MICHIGAN — To know West Michigan is to love West Michigan.

That’s the philosophy behind an internship program the West Michigan Strategic Alliance launched in 2009. The project set a goal of creating 3,000 new internships in local businesses for college students by the end of 2011.

The initiative — about halfway toward its goal — seeks to reverse perceptions among the soon-to-graduates about the likelihood of pursuing rewarding careers in state.

“Students going into health do clinicals and students going into education do student teaching, but other professions often lack opportunities for students to get to know a culture from the inside and see if it’s for them,” said Cindy Brown of WMSA.

With input from a regional advisory committee that includes college career directors, Brown trains employers in how to run effective internships and helps match college students to internship opportunities.

Internships aren’t a completely altruistic act, Brown said. WMSA views them as an economic development tool to attract and retain intellectual capital to area companies.

On that note, there is reason for concern.

Michigan is a decade deep into “brain drain.” Almost half of those who graduated from the state’s 15 public universities from 2000 to 2010 found employment outside the Great Lakes State.

This trend signals trouble for Michigan’s economy as it evolves beyond its automotive manufacturing roots.

Research reveals that 58 percent of a community’s success, as measured by per capita income, can be attributed to its residents’ attainment of post-secondary degrees. This suggests that engaging and retaining intellectual talent is the cornerstone of Michigan’s economic growth.

“Connecting students in personal and meaningful ways to Michigan’s future before they graduate and plan their lives elsewhere is a critical component to the state’s economic growth,” said Bob Bartlett, president of the Michigan Colleges Foundation, a consortium of 14 private colleges and universities.

A new survey commissioned by MCF of some 4,000 students studying at member institutions pinpointed key reasons why talented young people leave the state after graduation and offered insights into what can be done to persuade them to stay.

The survey is giving rise to “Think Michigan,” a new MCF campaign to influence students through on-campus and community-based activities and events to live and work in Michigan’s three largest metropolitan areas: Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids.

Of the three major metro areas, new grads felt most positive about a future in Grand Rapids.

About 70 percent of those surveyed said they had lived in Michigan for at least half their lives. About 60 percent of Michigan “natives” indicated they want to remain in Michigan.

However, the survey found that 89 percent of respondents considered earning opportunities the most important factor in deciding where to settle after graduation and only 11 percent said they believe Michigan has attractive career opportunities.

New college grads also weigh “quality of life” factors prominently into deciding where to live and work, the survey found. Today’s young people want affordable housing, easy commutes and access to nature along with their good-paying jobs.

The state of Michigan recognized that through former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s Cool Cities Initiative, which provided money to up the “awesome!” flavor in municipalities that could anchor commerce centers.

“A strong and robust downtown is important to keeping Grand Rapids attractive to young professionals,” said Kara Wood, the city’s economic development director.

Good jobs are the most important component of that vitality, but public infrastructure, housing options, cultural and retail amenities and access to the Grand River are all parts of the picture new college graduates are looking for, Wood said.

Mayor Kurt Dykstra said Holland City Council has not expressly discussed keeping new college grads in the Tulip City, but said he believes the most effective thing leadership can do is enhance economic opportunities.

Almost $500 million in new investments by Johnson Controls-Saft and LG Chem for lithium-ion battery production facilities is sure to attract and retain highly educated, highly skilled technology workers to Holland, Dykstra said.

Providing college students with direct contact with Michigan employers is perhaps a more targeted strategy for keeping young talent local, said Dale Austin, Hope College’s director of career services.

He said Michigan’s longest running statewide job fair recruiting program, Job Pursuit, brings hundreds of students at 12 Michigan private colleges together with many of the state’s top employers. That “face time” is often the key to morph “brain drain” into “brain gain.”

Leonidas Caldwell, Kalamazoo College’s student representative on the Michigan Colleges Foundation’s Millennium Board, said he understands firsthand why many new graduates look far afield when deciding where to launch their careers.

He chatted with many of the hundreds of students he personally distributed the MCF survey to last March, and said about 60 percent said they planned to leave Michigan after graduation.

“A big part of the challenge is that they give us such a global focus here,” said Lee Cal, a senior from Flint majoring in mathematics. “By the time a K-College student is ready to graduate, they can’t wait to flood their gifts all over the world.”

And Caldwell says he’s no different. Although he said loves Michigan and thinks the state has a lot to offer, he believes that he must experience other places to make himself “well-rounded.”

He has his heart set on teaching math in California through the organization Teach America.

“There will come a time in my life when I will want to come back to give back,” Caldwell said. “But that’s not going to be immediately.”

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TAGS:

• cindy brown
• job pursuit
• johnson controls-saft
• leonidas caldwell
• lg chem
• michigan colleges foundation’s millennium board
• teach america
• west michigan
• west michigan strategic alliance