TiER1 Performance Solutions, the
Covington-based business consulting/design/strategy/training company, has Doug Arthur, its director of Community Engagement Services, on the run. In 2005, Arthur co-founded a nonprofit collaboration between business and educators called the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati. With help from
Procter & Gamble, the
University of Cincinnati and many others, INTERalliance connects students, jobs and education. With the program running successfully in Cincinnati, TiER1 has sent Arthur across the country to replicate the results in different communities.
Arthur initially started the INTERalliance to respond to the lack talent being fostered locally in the IT field.
“I was working for a company called ATOS and wanted to hire a co-op from UC, but was told that they didn’t have enough students going into computer science,” Arthur says. “In the Cincinnati area, it turns out that there will be as many as 6,000 unfilled IT jobs in the next five years.”
By bringing together the largest companies in the city, including P&G, Kroger and Macys, and partnering with local universities and high schools, Arthur helped create a pipeline for the city to address its employment gap and retain top talent. INTERalliance launched IT Career Camps in 2006 and, in addition to reaching 3,500 students since then, spawned the
TechOlympics Expo, a three-day celebration of technology and innovation.
This month, Arthur has been commuting to Fort Wayne, Ind., to replicate the model, helping the Northeast Indiana Tech Coalition produce its own “TechFest 2014” in partnership with Ivy Tech Community College, Greater Fort Wayne Inc., the City of Fort Wayne, Allen County and Atos. He has also worked in a similar capacity in cities like
Cleveland and San Diego.
“At the end of the day, every city is dealing with similar problems,” Arthur says. “How do they retain the current companies they have and attract new ones? One of the biggest parts of doing that is having an employer-ready workforce with the right skill. What we do is call on the employers, the high schools and the universities, bring them together using a common methodology, listen to their unique needs in each city and help build a framework that addresses those issues.”
By Mike Sarason
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