CONTACTS:
Greg Hilton - 803.606.4440
C. Grant Jackson - 803.733.2513
info@columbiatalent.com
A Road Map To A Talent-Powered Economy
Attracting the Best and Brightest to Columbia
The Columbia Talent Magnet Project is challenging the Columbia region to launch “a thousand initiatives” to help build a talent-powered economy in our region by focusing on engaging, attracting, and retaining young mobile knowledge workers.
To inspire the community to take action, the project’s partners have published a report outlining five key recommendations developed in concert with the Southern Growth Policies Board for building a talent-powered economy in the Columbia region:
- Create a Unified Vision
- Develop a Cadre of Young Leaders
- Connect Undergraduate and Young Professionals to the Community.
- Enhance Communication Vehicles, Especially Those Targeted at Young People
- Foster an Entrepreneurial Environment and Spirit in the Community
“A Road Map To A Talent-Powered Economy: Attracting the Best and Brightest to Columbia,” a report by the Columbia Talent Magnet Project and the Southern Growth Policies Board, was released today.
The Columbia Talent Magnet Project partners include Navigating from good to Great and the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, EngenuitySC, New Carolina – S.C.’s Council on Competitiveness, COR – Columbia Opportunity Resource, and the Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau. The project is managed by EngenuitySC.
The report and recommendations grew out of an effort launched by the Columbia Talent Magnet Project and the Southern Growth Policies Board in 2008. The first phase of that initiative was a web-based survey in the fall of 2008 on the issue of attracting and retaining talent in the region. More than 1,000 people responded to that survey, the results of which were used as the basis for the first Columbia Talent Forum in November.
More than 130 invited guests ranging from area college students to business executives to government leaders gathered for the forum at Trustus Theatre to discuss the survey and brainstorm ways to attract and retain talent in Columbia.
The forum was facilitated by the Southern Growth Policies Board which drew its recommendations from that conversation.
"As cities across the country struggle to attract the young talent they need to be competitive, the collaborative effort of Columbia has the potential to be a national model. It is wonderful to see so many organizations and people working together to improve their community,” said Ted Abernathy, executive director of the Southern Growth Policies Board.
On tap are several key projects the Columbia Talent Magnet team will be developing including a Midlands Young Professionals Organizations Alliance; a region-wide entrepreneurs network and a pilot regional internship program.
While the Columbia Talent Magnet team is developing its own projects, the report is an effort to catalyze action among many community groups to “launch a thousand initiatives.”
“We’re excited about the prospect of taking Columbia’s activities to the next level by harnessing the creative potential of our citizens and leaders from the civic, social, higher education, and business community. Community and economic development is a team sport and we need everyone to step up to plate…at every level,” said Greg Hilton, project manager for EngenuitySC.
The project’s partners are working to foster collaboration among universities, colleges, community leaders and the business community to create a dynamic interaction that will increase the participation of the next generation of individuals entering the workforce and the community.
A copy of the full report and the complete Columbia Talent Magnet survey results are available at www.columbiatalent.com.
For more information contact: Greg Hilton, 803-606-4400
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Monday, June 29, 2009
REPORT: A Road Map to a Talent-Powered Economy
Full Survey Results
The full results of the Columbia Talent survey are below. Please note that there is a separate tab for each question noted at the bottom. If you would prefer to view the results in a separate window, click here.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The State: Stop imagining; start building!
http://www.thestate.com/editorial-columns/story/813405.html
Opinion - Editorial Columns
Thursday, Jun. 04, 2009
Rentz: Stop imagining; start building
By MIKE RENTZ - Guest Columnist
Columbia could go from famously hot to spontaneous combustion if it took advantage of its natural and manmade infrastructure. We have the tools.
We could tell the world to look at us — and become a leading Southern city, one that people want to visit and live in — by developing a mass transit system that really works, and making the rivers fun and useful.
If a city had to start from scratch and develop a mass transit system to tie the whole area together, purchasing the land easements alone would be cost-prohibitive. But in Columbia, the railroad tracks are already in place. All we have to do is use them. I am not talking about long ugly commuter trains, but the new generation of one-, two- and three-car trains like the ones in Jersey City, N.J. We have the opportunity to set the standard for mass transit. This is a rare time in history when all the necessary elements of something special converge and naturally fall in place.
Engineering companies that originated and are headquartered in Columbia are designing the most sophisticated mass transit systems known to man, and setting the standard all over the world.
International leaders in rail technology are right here in the Midlands, with the ability to convert buses and trolleys from rubber to rail, and most anything else that a rail system would need.
We are leading the way with hydrogen fuel technology. We could convert these trains to run on hydrogen fuel. We probably could get the “free” money from Washington to do that.
Of course we would have to work out the logistics and cost of using the existing tracks with the companies that own them. These track owners could be the shining example for all cities with rail systems. They have a chance to maximize the use of their tracks by moving people as well as commodities.
The tracks are laid out much better than the ones in the Northeast, and there is much less traffic on them. Compared to the complexity of the train-based mass transit operations in the Northeast, a Midlands system would be easy. Station stops could be at the intersections of major roads in Five Points, the Vista, the airport, Lake Murray and Irmo, the zoo, USC sports facilities, Northeast Columbia and so on. Think of it: The Garnet army could converge on a sports event on the Garnet Express. The benefits of minimizing auto traffic is obvious. The trains could run on fixed schedules that do not conflict with existing rail traffic. They could pull off of the main lines onto the many existing spurs if an emergency did arise. Special events could have special trains that ran for that event only. Taking the train to the airport from anywhere in the Midlands would be a sure bet.
Let’s start with the rubber-tired trolleys. Convert them to run on rail with hydrogen fuel. Set up a trial run from the Vista to the zoo or from downtown to the airport, and see how it goes. A one- or two-car train could stop and start at intersections just like the busses do now. With the station stops at major street crossings, safety would be enhanced. Regular city buses could run local routes from the train station stops in the areas where we need them. All we need is the will and leadership to do this. Think of the thousands of happy voters when you hear that whistle blow and the trains run on time.
While the trains would be good, the rivers and canal would be great. One hundred sixty years ago, the Midlands used the rivers and canals for travel. We are living the revitalization of these waterways. We should open the river channels that have been abandoned or were destroyed by Sherman on the Saluda, Broad and Congaree rivers. Imagine water shuttles and taxies from Gervais Street to the zoo and Lake Murray, a Garnet navy on the Congaree coming all the way from Charleston. We have an existing three-mile-long canal that allows us to tie the Interstate 20 area at the Broad River all the way to Gervais Street. Imagine the I-20/Broad River area full of hotels and businesses with a quick water shuttle to the Vista. The cars stay at I-20; the people come to the Vista faster than they could drive.
South Carolina has always led, sometimes blindly, but still led. The jobs and economic growth associated with the existing water and rail infrastructure could be tremendous. We can develop these assets quickly. If we all pull in the same direction, we would take a giant step in reclaiming our leadership role in the New South by setting the standard in mass transit. The Empire State Building in New York was built in one year. Let’s require our leaders to do something just as amazing with our infrastructure in one year. Let’s fast-track the trains and open the ambiance of the canal and rivers. Let’s pour some fuel on this hot spot and light up the South from Columbia.
Seriously.
Mr. Rentz is president of Rentz Engineering, a structural engineering consulting company in West Columbia.
Opinion - Editorial Columns
Thursday, Jun. 04, 2009
Rentz: Stop imagining; start building
By MIKE RENTZ - Guest Columnist
Columbia could go from famously hot to spontaneous combustion if it took advantage of its natural and manmade infrastructure. We have the tools.
We could tell the world to look at us — and become a leading Southern city, one that people want to visit and live in — by developing a mass transit system that really works, and making the rivers fun and useful.
If a city had to start from scratch and develop a mass transit system to tie the whole area together, purchasing the land easements alone would be cost-prohibitive. But in Columbia, the railroad tracks are already in place. All we have to do is use them. I am not talking about long ugly commuter trains, but the new generation of one-, two- and three-car trains like the ones in Jersey City, N.J. We have the opportunity to set the standard for mass transit. This is a rare time in history when all the necessary elements of something special converge and naturally fall in place.
Engineering companies that originated and are headquartered in Columbia are designing the most sophisticated mass transit systems known to man, and setting the standard all over the world.
International leaders in rail technology are right here in the Midlands, with the ability to convert buses and trolleys from rubber to rail, and most anything else that a rail system would need.
We are leading the way with hydrogen fuel technology. We could convert these trains to run on hydrogen fuel. We probably could get the “free” money from Washington to do that.
Of course we would have to work out the logistics and cost of using the existing tracks with the companies that own them. These track owners could be the shining example for all cities with rail systems. They have a chance to maximize the use of their tracks by moving people as well as commodities.
The tracks are laid out much better than the ones in the Northeast, and there is much less traffic on them. Compared to the complexity of the train-based mass transit operations in the Northeast, a Midlands system would be easy. Station stops could be at the intersections of major roads in Five Points, the Vista, the airport, Lake Murray and Irmo, the zoo, USC sports facilities, Northeast Columbia and so on. Think of it: The Garnet army could converge on a sports event on the Garnet Express. The benefits of minimizing auto traffic is obvious. The trains could run on fixed schedules that do not conflict with existing rail traffic. They could pull off of the main lines onto the many existing spurs if an emergency did arise. Special events could have special trains that ran for that event only. Taking the train to the airport from anywhere in the Midlands would be a sure bet.
Let’s start with the rubber-tired trolleys. Convert them to run on rail with hydrogen fuel. Set up a trial run from the Vista to the zoo or from downtown to the airport, and see how it goes. A one- or two-car train could stop and start at intersections just like the busses do now. With the station stops at major street crossings, safety would be enhanced. Regular city buses could run local routes from the train station stops in the areas where we need them. All we need is the will and leadership to do this. Think of the thousands of happy voters when you hear that whistle blow and the trains run on time.
While the trains would be good, the rivers and canal would be great. One hundred sixty years ago, the Midlands used the rivers and canals for travel. We are living the revitalization of these waterways. We should open the river channels that have been abandoned or were destroyed by Sherman on the Saluda, Broad and Congaree rivers. Imagine water shuttles and taxies from Gervais Street to the zoo and Lake Murray, a Garnet navy on the Congaree coming all the way from Charleston. We have an existing three-mile-long canal that allows us to tie the Interstate 20 area at the Broad River all the way to Gervais Street. Imagine the I-20/Broad River area full of hotels and businesses with a quick water shuttle to the Vista. The cars stay at I-20; the people come to the Vista faster than they could drive.
South Carolina has always led, sometimes blindly, but still led. The jobs and economic growth associated with the existing water and rail infrastructure could be tremendous. We can develop these assets quickly. If we all pull in the same direction, we would take a giant step in reclaiming our leadership role in the New South by setting the standard in mass transit. The Empire State Building in New York was built in one year. Let’s require our leaders to do something just as amazing with our infrastructure in one year. Let’s fast-track the trains and open the ambiance of the canal and rivers. Let’s pour some fuel on this hot spot and light up the South from Columbia.
Seriously.
Mr. Rentz is president of Rentz Engineering, a structural engineering consulting company in West Columbia.
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