Greater Sacramento Economic Council Holds First Competitiveness Forum

November 17, 2016

William Jessup University President John Jackson and Sierra College President Willy Duncan co-chairs of the Council

The Greater Sacramento Economic Council will hold its first Competitiveness Forum, where the regional community will drive forward a candid dialogue about improving its competitiveness with regards to attracting businesses to the area. The interactive forum will be held in Placer County at William Jessup University on Nov.15^th from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Through data and analytics, the council will highlight the pros and cons of the region’s current competitive position and how it can better compete to build a robust economy in the Sacramento area.

For example, the Greater Sacramento research office has found that the region is gaining more students with bachelor’s degrees, however these students tend to leave for other locations after graduation. The Sacramento area retains less than 40 percent of students who earn their bachelor’s degrees in the region.

Poor talent retention is partly due to youth employment opportunities. Among the top metropolitan areas nationally, the Sacramento region has the 2^nd highest youth unemployment rate. The region has the ability to not only grow, but to keep its talented workforce.

The Director of Research and Strategy at the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Dr. Christopher Weare, will lead the interactive Competitiveness Forum. He and his team have been working with the council to showcase the region’s strengths and address its weaknesses.

“We hope to build awareness of the economic strengths of the Sacramento region as well as the very real challenges that we face through this forum,” Greater Sacramento Economic Council CEO Barry Broome said. “Dr. Weare is doing an excellent job starting a conversation in the community on where we stand and where we need to go, this community has an unparalleled opportunity to take control of its economic fate for the better.”

The co-chairs of the Greater Sacramento Competitiveness Council are William Jessup University President John Jackson and Sierra College President Willy Duncan.

“We want our students to graduate in Placer County and have internships and job opportunities available to them in the Sacramento region,” William Jessup University President John Jackson said. “It’s vital to our economy that we keep our talented students in this area.”

The Sacramento economy has generally recovered from the great recession, but data and analytics show that its leaders need to come up with strategies to retain its young talent. California is the 6^th largest economy, most innovative and most profitable state to do business, but lacks a placemaking strategy for communities that are without jobs.

“This is a great opportunity to get a very important conversation started on the region’s competitiveness,” Sierra College President Willy Duncan said. “Our students are talented and we want to keep that talent locally.”

The Competitiveness forum is in partnership with the Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln Chambers of Commerce.

Forum Video

In the Media

Economic Leaders Talk Strategies to Keep College Graduates in the Sacramento Area | Joe Michaels | NewsRadio KFBK

With news that the Sacramento region has the 2nd highest youth unemployment rate, about 200 civic and economic leaders gathered at William Jessup University Tuesday to discuss strategies to keep college graduates from leaving the area after getting their degrees. The Greater Sacramento Economic Council hosted the interactive forum highlighting the pros and cons of the region’s current competitive position.