Growing Our Region by Investing in Talent

This guest column was originally written and published in the Business Record.

Think about how you felt the last time you got a new job or a new role with your employer.

For most people, it’s a feeling of genuine excitement and renewal. It’s about new possibilities. Maybe it’s the result of years of work that have led to a dream role.

At the Greater Des Moines Partnership, we have the joy of preparing people of all experience levels for their future career steps in our region.

At The Partnership’s Regional Summit in October, leaders from McKinsey & Company’s Institute of Economic Mobility shared a recent analysis showing that the Greater Des Moines region is projected to gain about 35,800 jobs by 2035. This includes heavy growth in occupation groups related to business and finance, educational, STEM, transportation and management.

Even in the age of AI, we continually learn from our Investors that skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, professional community and adaptation are pivotal in the current and future workplace.

We work to help people hone these skills every day.

As the largest economic development and talent development organization in Iowa, we continually hear from our Investors and other stakeholders about the need for talent and know that it is critical to economic success. For companies to grow here, they need to have access to a strong labor force.

Designing Talent Programs for the Future

This is not a unique issue for Greater Des Moines, and our competitive advantage is that we have built a robust talent ecosystem to attract, retain and develop talent. And, I believe, we have the best team to do this work every day alongside many community stakeholders.

We take a holistic approach to talent, ensuring opportunities at all levels, from classroom to boardroom. We work closely with K-12 students, college students, young professionals, emerging leaders, civic leaders and top-level organizational leaders to enhance their skills.

The common thread at all levels is the focus on durable, human-centered skills that withstand technology advances and excel at the speed of business. The Partnership is partnering on and designing signature talent programs that are leading the way.

One recent example of this: We have worked with high schools and businesses across the region and state to advance awareness of AP business and personal finance and AP cybersecurity courses. We also work with schools to help students connect with employers, as we recently did with the Winterset Community School District. The district held career exploration events at Collins Aerospace in West Des Moines and Kreg Tool in Ankeny.

This work complements what we do through The Legacy Project: Career Ready Collective for high school students, which is funded by the Principal Charity Classic with support from Sammons Financial Group, and the work we do through the DSM Intern Connection for college students.

We know these programs are changing lives. We hear it from students, parents and program facilitators. These students are learning to reach their potential in ways they didn’t realize were possible.

For career professionals, this year we worked with Business Publications Corporation and Story Board Advisors to launch the BPC CEO Master Class, an executive leadership program for top-level organizational leaders, and we also hosted the first cohort for the DSM Leadership Intensive for new, emerging and aspiring workplace leaders. These programs expand on what we already offer through the Young Professionals Connection and the DSM Fellowship Program.

We also work with employers on specific needs such as AI. This year, we convened an AI Roundtable of leaders from around Greater Des Moines to help identify how organizations in the region, particularly small- and medium-sized businesses, grow their AI fluency. This work will result in actionable steps businesses and their workforce can take to prepare them for the future.