When our region unites for economic development, we all win

The Milwaukee 7 Economic Development Partnership (M7) launched in 2005 with an ambitious goal: As a seven-county region, we could work together to help our existing companies expand and also attract national and international companies to move here.

This year, the M7 will celebrate its 100th project win. From the revitalization of downtown Milwaukee to the booming development heading south on I-94, west into Waukesha and elsewhere throughout our region, M7 has been in the middle of it all. In this issue of Milwaukee Commerce, we look at how it all started, plus a few of the success stories that benefit our entire region.

But corporate attraction, retention and expansion is just one strategy to make the region globally competitive. When a business moves here, or expands here, M7 is available to provide guidance and make connections every step of the way. This assistance includes efforts to tackle the most pressing issue we face right now: finding enough talented workers to fill open positions.

According to a model we worked with ManpowerGroup to develop, the gap of unfilled job openings in the Milwaukee Region stands at 35,000 – growing 7 percent in the next three years. Our manufacturers have a much more difficult road ahead – their projected workforce gap grows by 44 percent. Demographic data tells us after 2021, more workers will begin to age out of the workforce than age into it.

This talent shortage is, in part, a function of our success. The Milwaukee Region is a place that never stopped designing and building things, and we are leading the way in advanced manufacturing. Per capita, we employ more workers in manufacturing than practically any other place in the country. I’ve often said that if we were a baseball pitcher, manufacturing would be our fastball. We’ll continue to add to our repertoire, but we can’t lose our fastball.

And to do that, we’ll need to work together.

Late last year, MMAC and M7 staff convened a region-wide Manufacturing Talent Initiative, working with executives from more than 35 manufacturers to collaborate on solutions. While companies should and will continue to compete with one another to hire the best employees, there are things we can do together to increase the size of the pool all companies are fishing in.

We will have more to share on these efforts in the coming months. But it is already clear that we must make more potential employees aware of the good, family-sustaining career options that are available in manufacturing. And as employers, we must open our doors to potential employees who currently sit on the sidelines or are underemployed.

We believe collaboration will set us apart. By working together to solve our talent challenges, we will advance the region as a great place to live.