Ross DeVol: We believe, and the evidence supports this, that the ability to create and attract and retain talent is a key distinguishing feature of those metropolitan areas, regions of the country that are being successful. I've done work with our senior fellow, Richard Florida, who is the primary author of this report. We used to say in regional economics many years ago when we were trained that people follow jobs, but jobs don't follow people. Well, that is changing. Today, companies, entrepreneurs starting new companies, young people are looking for opportunities and they're very mobile. So, talent is really the redeeming feature. So, we know that the coastal areas, the technology hubs like Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Washington, DC, Boston, I go down the list right on the East coast as well, have led the country in terms of talent creation and retention and attraction. They clustered these knowledge-based employees. But what's happened is, despite that, costs have risen. Housing costs in these centers, the ability to commute, the long commuting times that are required, the frictions of life. And we've been trying to monitor as an early warning sign, kind of a leading indicator of what's happening around the country, and especially as it relates to the heartland, the center of the country, by looking at recent changes in a couple of different talent measures. We use two in this report primarily. One looks at the percent of the adult population with a bachelor's degree or above. And the other looks at what we call the creative class. There is some overlap between the two, but you don't necessarily have to have a bachelor's degree. It can include a graphics arts designer, an artist, a painter, an entertainer, in addition to the more technical occupations that would be part of that. So, what we found is indeed we're starting to see people leave the coast, these technology centers and other places in the center of the country, Grand Rapids among them, experiencing the most rapid increases in talent either through the creative class or in terms of the percent of the adult population with a bachelor's degree or above.
Patrick Center: Is this about how the region has repositioned itself? Is this a story about higher education and the offerings that each institution in a particular area offers? What are you seeing? What is the synergy that's propelling this?
Ross DeVol: Well, Patrick, especially in the small and more medium sized metros and Grand Rapids gets into the million and above metro area. College towns have really seen the greatest increase in the heartland. You know, Ann Arbor, Michigan among them just behind Boulder, Colorado in terms of the of the adult population with a bachelor's degree. What we're seeing is younger people in particular are looking at where can they start a family. They're looking for that first job and maybe in the past it might have been the easy answer was you go to Palo Alto, California, you go to Cambridge, Massachusetts. But today we're finding an increasing number are either choosing to stay where they've gone to school. That's where the universities play a large role. And this is a large part of what's been happening in Grand Rapids. But it's the combination of also the amenities, the entertainment, the arts, the culture offerings of different locations, and are leaders trying to foster a more inclusive quality of life, quality of place environment that will attract this talent. Now, in terms of Grand Rapids specifically, what really makes it stand out, it led the country since 2019 in the increase in the percent of the creative class. It grew by 6.1 percentage points, the largest among large metro areas in the country. And it's really a leading indicator of a number of things, but the opportunities that present themselves. So, what makes Grand Rapids stand out? Well, when you go through the data and the analysis, it's the biomedical complex, the Medical Mile, the jobs that have been created there. These are research jobs, they're clinical. They're at the academic institutions. Altogether, there's probably close to 60,000 bioscience jobs related in the area. So that's been a large magnet for talent and attraction. And of course, Grand Valley State University and the other universities there create a number of STEM graduates and also in the medical professions. So, there's kind of a health cluster, if you will, that's developed. But you're also seeing professional services, financial services, and scientific talent really lead the way. And you combine that with outstanding quality of place. And Grand Rapids has led the country in the growth of the percent of the adult population that are in the creative class over the past four years.
Patrick Center: You mentioned that quality of life, especially when you're living in the Northern tier of the country. How important is all of that?
Ross DeVol: It's very important, especially younger people, but even retirees. We've seen a number of communities that have been very successful as they've attracted retirees and or retain them. So, the quality of place, quality of life, arts, culture, entertainment really are key attributes that the creative class are looking for today. And those communities that can both create job opportunities, creating quality jobs and have these attractions are really leading the country in attracting these knowledge-based jobs and people that are in them.
Patrick Center: The regional economic development corporation, The Right Place, now has a focus on Grand Rapids becoming a major tech hub in the Midwest. And the idea is to grow the sector 10 % in regional employment. Their vision calls for 20,000 new tech jobs over the next 10 years. Is it always good to have something on the horizon to reach for?
Ross DeVol: You can't always pick winners, but you can look at those that are most likely to succeed with a little bit of support. So, thinking about those technology sectors, which make the most sense for Grand Rapids or any other community, I think need to be part of the plan because if you're not forward thinking, you will get left behind. That's just the way the world operates today, especially in regional economics. So, it requires leadership who understands the changes that taking place, the opportunities to present themselves and what can they do to best capitalize? Is it workforce development programs? Is it specific STEM field areas that are in high demand for employers? But working closely with the universities and colleges to make sure they're creating the right kind of graduates for the needs in the employment base are really critical in moving more towards that technology sector and STEM related talent creation is a large component of success today.
Patrick Center: What are some of the challenges that you are seeing on the horizon for a number of the communities in the Midwest?
Ross DeVol: Well, one of those is reliance on what I might call more old scale, old type manufacturing. Now, of course, Grand Rapids certainly has auto manufacturing, but it tends to be more around the high value-added sensors components, very technologically savvy. So, moving away from the traditional kind of recruiting, traditional, what I might call smokestack type jobs and thinking more about advanced manufacturing. So, if you're going to have a biotech, biomedical hub, you also want to be involved in the manufacture of the products that are created, which provides much broader base of employment and middle-class jobs for people who live in the community. So forward thinking is a big part of it, but it also requires a new mindset, thinking about what can we do different? So, supporting entrepreneurs who may want to spin out of an existing company rather than focusing so much on recruiting, I think is something that many heartland communities have not fully adapted to yet. They're working on it. Some have been very successful, the Austin's, the Nashville's, the Minneapolis's, the Ann Arbor's and the smaller communities. But it's those that are more forward thinking that have a plan that they're trying to execute to bring everyone along. One of the things that Heartland Forward is trying to do as a think-and-do tank is demonstrate which attributes, which initiatives are proving to be successful in the Heartland in talent attraction. And this report serves as a scorecard for the Heartland, but it also tries to show best practices and what could perhaps be adapted, adopted in other locations. So that's what we're trying to do. It's not just about reporting what the rankings are, but to try and in a clinical sense, demonstrate the efficacy of what has been working, what communities have been most successful so that others might try to emulate it. So, we try to serve as a resource for policy leaders, government leaders, business sector, and locations throughout the Heartland. So that we can have more economic growth and job creation in the center of the country.
Patrick Center: I think that's a very fascinating point that you are making because not all communities across the Heartland, across the Midwest are created equally. Some have figured out the secret sauce. Others have not. Others were impacted far worse during the eighties when there was the migration of companies to the South. And then we saw the offshoring. So, in essence, what is working? What is one or two things that truly are the bedrock for launching success?
Ross DeVol: A lot of it has to do with leadership. It seems to me that having a long-term perspective, understanding the changes that are taking place and adapting to them. So, one of those things that you look at are economic development agencies that have moved away from focusing on industrial recruitment, some would call it smokestack chasing. In other words, just offering incentives to try and get a plant open. I mean, that's still part of the game. But focusing more on growing your own businesses, offering support, not only for early-stage entrepreneurs, but to help them scale their businesses. Because it's those entrepreneurs today that are able to scale their businesses, they're going to be the job creators and help sustain community growth over the long term. The other thing we already mentioned that perhaps it deserves additional attention is the focus on what attracts talent and retains it. Those quality of place attributes we've already discussed, investing in the arts, the entertainment, the music pavilions, those are the amenities that young professionals and even older professionals really are looking for today. And it's a combination of all these factors in terms of looking ahead, thinking about what industries are most poised to accelerate if they only have a bit more support. So, the bottom line is you have to think ahead, or you will be left behind.
Patrick Center: Ross Devol, you are the CEO and chairman of Heartland Forward. Thank you so much.
Ross DeVol: Patrick, I appreciate the opportunity to participate today.