"What a great place": Network tries to keep young talent from leaving town
Council forms network, plans first event for tonight

By Richard Lee
Staff Writer
The Advocate

Posted: 01/21/2009 05:51:47 PM EST

Sharon Martinez, left, manager of staffing and recruiting at Bridgeport-based People's Bank, and Jessica Slippen, an attorney for Pullman & Comley in the Bridgeport office have helped organize the Young Professionals Network, developed by the Business Council of Fairfield County. (Ned Gerard/Staff photo)

Sharon Martinez wants to do her part to help retain a strong workforce in southwestern Connecticut.

And as an organizer of the Young Professionals Network, she has worked with staff at The Business Council of Fairfield County to plan the fledgling group's first event tonight at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

"I think it's necessary for young professionals to have a safe environment to learn and grow professionally and socially and make them aware of what a great place Connecticut is to live and grow a career," said Martinez, manager of staffing and recruiting at Bridgeport-based People's Bank. "It's important to take action to retain talent."

The network was established by members of the council out of a concern that a disproportionate number of recent college graduates are forsaking jobs in the business world in Connecticut and moving to other states.

Most recent statistics provided by the business council reveal that in 2005, 18 percent of the region's population was 18- through 34-year olds, compared with 27 percent in 1990. In Connecticut, the number has dropped from 28 percent in 1990 to

19 percent in 2005.

Some of the decline can be attributed to a flight of young educated people to other states, according to Christopher Bruhl, president and chief executive officer of the business council, who said council members -- including UBS, Centerplate, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Wachovia -- made contributions to create a pool of funds to develop the network.

"Centerplate supports the efforts of the Fairfield County Business Council to help companies retain young professionals in Fairfield County, and we think this program is a great way to begin that process," said Janet Steinmayer, president and chief executive officer of Centerplate and a member of the business council's board of directors.

The goal is to engage employees new to the business world in a peer network that will be social, as well as professional, Bruhl said.

"There's definitely an outward migration of 24- through 34-year-olds in the region and Connecticut. We have more leaving than arriving," he said. "Companies have to plan for a slightly higher turnover rate and pay a little more. They have to work harder at helping people fit in."

Research shows that the high cost of housing is not the major factor for flight from the region, Bruhl said. Key factors are for leaving are better professional opportunities within a company and the opportunity to interact with peers within their own skill set.

Organizers have been surprised by interest in the young professionals event, which runs from 6 to 8 tonight, and is $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

"When we got started we thought we'd have 35 to 50. As of Wednesday afternoon we're at 110. The common denominator is that they want to be with each other in a multi-company setting. It's not just a party. It's a learning opportunity," said Bruhl, crediting the business council's Human Capital Council who is studying the problem.

The network offers more than just opportunities for young professionals to meet, said Jessica Slippen, a litigation associate at the Bridgeport office of Pullman & Comley LLC.

"There will be a number of networking events and opportunities to do social work in the community to allow young professionals to help and get to know their community," she said.

Based on current population growth patterns, the gap in prime age workers will continue to be a problem over the next four years, according to Joseph Carbone, president and chief executive officer of The Workplace Inc., in Bridgeport, the region's workforce development board.

"This is something we should be concerned about. We're going to be a lot older," he said.

-- Staff Writer Rich Lee can be reached at 964-2236