The Wake County Economic Development (WCED) in partnership with the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber’s Competitive EDGE4 program has announced the launch of “Work in the Triangle, Smarter From Any Angle,” a workforce talent recruitment and retention program for the Research Triangle region. Industry sectors targeted by the program include biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, advanced medical technologies, software/IT, cloud computing, analytics, smart grid and interactive digital media.
“With our North America headquarters in the Triangle, Lenovo depends on the educated, innovative and motivated workforce available here to help strengthen our position as one of the world’s largest PC vendors,” said Tom Looney, vice president and general manager, Public Sector & Enterprise, Lenovo North America. “Lenovo’s successful recruiting in the Triangle has helped the company to be named among the top 50 IT companies in 2011 considered top-of-mind employers by students—giving Lenovo a solid competitive advantage in attracting new talent.”
North Carolina has strong research and education systems in place to partner today’s companies with tomorrow’s leaders. From accessible state community colleges and university systems to outstanding private institutions, the state is constantly developing new talent. This new initiative will serve to support not only the retention of that talent, but the integration of potential recruits interested in becoming part of North Carolina’s highly-skilled labor pool.
The Work in the Triangle initiative is being deployed digitally, via the website WorkInTheTriangle.com. Content is also being pushed through a Work in the Triangle Facebook page and Twitter account. The initiative will connect prospective out-of-area talent and Triangle-area businesses that are currently recruiting. Web features to support professional connections include:
- Target industry profiles and overviews of sectors actively recruiting talent
- Area job website links
- Area network and industry association links
- Industry-specific resource links
- Real estate and housing information
- Relocation assistance services
In addition, up-to-date news about the region from national and regional outlets, including top rankings and other pertinent information, will be featured on the website.
Another key attribute of the website is an open source feature that will allow current Triangle area community members to interact in a manner that will emphasize their personal stories as well as aspects of the region’s cultural and recreational attributes that enable them to Thrive personally and professionally. Residents will have the opportunity to become regional brand ambassadors, or Triangle “Smarty Pants” ambassadors, by illustrating why they prefer working, living, learning and playing in the Triangle through interactive content that will include blogs videos and links to social networking communication tools, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Flickr.
“Promoting job growth has been my top priority, and the Work in the Triangle initiative to attract more talented individuals to come to the region is in line with efforts to continue to improve our state’s employment opportunities,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “This web portal does an excellent job of showcasing why so many people like to live and work in North Carolina.”
According to the WCED press release, the Research Triangle region is projected to grow by 48 percent or 979,782 people in the next 20 years. Wake County is projected to grow by 57 percent or 513,340 people in the next 20 years. With that projected growth, the Triangle leadership has recognized the region must continue to cultivate and replenish its most important asset—people—in order for the region to flourish in the decades to come.
For more information, please visit www.WorkInTheTriangle.com.