A number of regions, particularly in the northern sections of the United States, are grappling with shrinking populations that are contributing to talent gaps in the workforce.  Suffering from the loss of jobs in the 1970s and 1980’s, communities in the rust-belt area of the United States watched as manufacturing plants lost ground in the global marketplace. Many of the steel mills shut down or shipped operations to other states or countries with lower costs and larger pools of less expensive talent.  As a result, rust-belt workers migrated to other markets that offered better opportunities.  Some industries remained but retooled their plants to operate more efficiently with innovative technology that required few laborers and more skilled talent. 

However, 20 and 30 years later a bright story of economic recovery has emerged in Pittsburgh.  It is a region of Southwestern Pennsylvania that rebounded from an 18% unemployment rate in 1981 to a region that today enjoys job growth in multiple sectors including healthcare, finance, technology, green innovation and energy.  Despite the recent recession and sluggish economic recovery, Pittsburgh continues to have a robust job market and the distinction of being ranked among one of the most livable cities in the U.S.  Moreover, a 2009 Penn State University study projects that technological advances in Marcellus Shale mining will generate thousands of new jobs in the region for the next 25 to 30 years. 

The recovery of the Pittsburgh Region was the result of leadership commitment to a common vision. This unified leadership spurred an economic renaissance that was showcased at the 2009 G-20 Summit, when world leaders traveled to Pittsburgh to explore solutions to the global economic crisis. 

With the revitalization of the region’s mature industries and the acquisition and emergence of new businesses, the region’s leaders turned their attention to the next challenge.  Pittsburgh has had a net population decline since its peak in the 1950s.  This decline has been due to a net population out-migration, a death rate that exceeds birth rate and a decreasing number of internationals immigrating to the region. 

In the early 1900s, Pittsburgh was one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country with about 26% of its population consisting of foreign-born residents, and today it is about 3%.  Also, 18% of Pittsburgh’s workforce is over the age of 55 and expected to retire soon.  With high unemployment rates among local minorities and the economically disadvantaged, minorities have been under-represented and thus under-utilized in the workforce.

On a national scale, over 40% of population growth in the U.S. is a result of immigration.  The U.S. workforce is about 71% women and minorities, and the total U.S. population will be majority minority by 2043.  Also, with Pittsburgh’s growing innovation and technology sectors, there is a growing need for professionals and technicians in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. 

Given these facts, the region’s leadership realized that to grow the workforce, the region would need to apply a global diversity and inclusion approach.   Organizations that have embarked on a workforce growth strategy with a local, national and international focus provide key lessons for regions and other organizations that are beginning their talent growth journeys. 

Lesson One: Whether the recruitment efforts are in the same community, in another state or another country, one should think globally but act locally.  In recruitment, particularly diversity recruitment, the seeker of talent must follow the talent and engage talent where it is.  With some of the world’s best universities located in the U.S., a major talent attraction opportunity is the retention of international students or international student alumni.  As home countries of international students, particularly Indian and Chinese students, develop their own competitive professional and worklife opportunities, the global war for talent is taking on a whole new meaning.  U.S. employers and the communities where these organizations reside will need to present equally competitive offers.  They must show that diversity is embraced, that professional opportunities are broad and accessible, and that ethnic or cultural difference will not inhibit an individual’s successful integration into the community and the organization. 

Lesson Two: Every organization or region has a culture and a set of requirements and norms. The recruiter must try to match candidates not only to the job description but to those norms and requirements.  However, if the organizational or community culture is too inflexible or inhibits consideration of candidates based on preferences or biases, this will significantly harm diversity talent attraction results.  Organizations and the leadership in the surrounding communities may need to work together to change certain norms and increase their capability to engage a wider array of cultural differences.  A collaborative approach with visible leadership support will help fuel necessary changes and increase the effectiveness and sustainability of the talent attraction efforts.

It is ironic that regions like Pittsburgh are aggressively pursuing talent in the midst of devastating global unemployment challenges.  It is a reflection of the uneven impact of the recession and the shift to economies that rely on highly skilled labor forces.  But it is also a major opportunity for organizations and regions that are able to adapt quickly to showcase themselves as an inclusive hub of opportunity.

Melanie Harrington is the CEO of Vibrant Pittsburgh, formerly known as The Regional Opportunity Center, a nonprofit economic development effort that is spearheading the next Pittsburgh renaissance, a People Renaissance that: (1) embraces inclusion, (2) ensures our region’s growth by educating, elevating, retaining, and attracting a diverse workforce, and (3) promotes Pittsburgh nationally and internationally as a diverse, welcoming region of opportunities.  An early initiative of the organization is the Energy program, a diversity talent attraction effort in partnership with EQT Corporation, Westinghouse Electric Company and Emerson Process Management.  For more information, please visit the website at www.vibrantpittsburgh.org or follow the Energy Program on LinkedIn at the “Pittsburgh Region’s Diversity in Energy” group. Ms. Harrington is also an INSIGHT Into Diversity Editorial Board member.