Should you stay or should you go?
London's talent pool is leaking
away, and one community engagement
group is working hard to
retain talented young citizens and
get them excited about living here.
According to a survey of Londoners by Emerging Leaders, nearly 60 per cent of respondents were "somewhat likely" or "very likely" to leave London in the next 10 years. Most of these respondents were educated (63.9 per cent had a Bachelor's degree) and were employed full-time (58.4 per cent).
"Emerging Leaders works to attract, retain and engage 20- to 44- year-old talent in London," explained Sean Quigley, the organization's executive director. "What we're doing is we're trying to find ways to make London an attractive option for people (within that demographic) to stay in. That could be through civic engagement, social engagement, political engagement, economic engagement."
London's talent pool is moving to places like Kitchener-Waterloo and the Greater Toronto Area, explained Quigley. "The problem is that London hasn't focused around how to attract and retain talent in a time in which we currently find ourselves, which is a time of economic austerity. In order to do that, we have to create (a desirable) environment, whether that's in terms of creating ways for this demographic to create new businesses or to create ways for them to feel connected in the community so they feel like if they have a job they're not going to leave. Emerging Leaders does all that — we connect people in a whole bunch of ways."
On November 17, Emerging Leaders is holding a Work In London Symposium to put together a policy to retain talent in the city. The event is free to attend, and all are welcome.
The symposium will feature guest speakers such as representatives from the Western University Students' Council, the London Economic Development Corporation, the London Chamber of Commerce and other London citizens. Speakers from similar-sized cities will come in to share their research regarding what they have done to attract and retain talent.
After attendees have heard from the speakers, they will be asked a series of specific questions for their solutions to this problem. The Emerging Leaders team will boil participants' answers down into a policy that will be shared with stakeholders like the LEDC, Fanshawe College, Western University, the Chamber of Commerce and more, said Quigley. "We can explicitly craft a policy that works towards that goal of retaining talent in London, which is vital for our economic well-being as a city. No one organization can do this singly — it really has to be a group effort."
This problem needs to be fixed, and it needs to be fixed now. "If we don't take action on this, the problem will begin to snowball," said Quigley. "It is not just a problem for Emerging Leaders, it is a problem for the whole community, whether you're students, whether you're a business, whether you're a social group, whether you're a sports group, it doesn't matter. It crosses all sectors. That's why it's an issue and that's why we have to find ways to make the city more attractive, whether that's arts and culture or whether that's economic opportunity."
Emerging Leaders membership is free to students, and creates a number of opportunities for students to connect to the city both socially and professionally, explained Quigley. "We're really good at connecting people to the groups or organizations or enterprises that make sense for them." They also hold a monthly mixer where citizens can come out to discuss what's happening in London and how to get involved. "Other than that, we're just really cool!" he chuckled.
For more information on the November 17 Work In London symposium, check out emergingleaders.ca/advocacy/elsymposium.
According to a survey of Londoners by Emerging Leaders, nearly 60 per cent of respondents were "somewhat likely" or "very likely" to leave London in the next 10 years. Most of these respondents were educated (63.9 per cent had a Bachelor's degree) and were employed full-time (58.4 per cent).
"Emerging Leaders works to attract, retain and engage 20- to 44- year-old talent in London," explained Sean Quigley, the organization's executive director. "What we're doing is we're trying to find ways to make London an attractive option for people (within that demographic) to stay in. That could be through civic engagement, social engagement, political engagement, economic engagement."
London's talent pool is moving to places like Kitchener-Waterloo and the Greater Toronto Area, explained Quigley. "The problem is that London hasn't focused around how to attract and retain talent in a time in which we currently find ourselves, which is a time of economic austerity. In order to do that, we have to create (a desirable) environment, whether that's in terms of creating ways for this demographic to create new businesses or to create ways for them to feel connected in the community so they feel like if they have a job they're not going to leave. Emerging Leaders does all that — we connect people in a whole bunch of ways."
On November 17, Emerging Leaders is holding a Work In London Symposium to put together a policy to retain talent in the city. The event is free to attend, and all are welcome.
The symposium will feature guest speakers such as representatives from the Western University Students' Council, the London Economic Development Corporation, the London Chamber of Commerce and other London citizens. Speakers from similar-sized cities will come in to share their research regarding what they have done to attract and retain talent.
After attendees have heard from the speakers, they will be asked a series of specific questions for their solutions to this problem. The Emerging Leaders team will boil participants' answers down into a policy that will be shared with stakeholders like the LEDC, Fanshawe College, Western University, the Chamber of Commerce and more, said Quigley. "We can explicitly craft a policy that works towards that goal of retaining talent in London, which is vital for our economic well-being as a city. No one organization can do this singly — it really has to be a group effort."
This problem needs to be fixed, and it needs to be fixed now. "If we don't take action on this, the problem will begin to snowball," said Quigley. "It is not just a problem for Emerging Leaders, it is a problem for the whole community, whether you're students, whether you're a business, whether you're a social group, whether you're a sports group, it doesn't matter. It crosses all sectors. That's why it's an issue and that's why we have to find ways to make the city more attractive, whether that's arts and culture or whether that's economic opportunity."
Emerging Leaders membership is free to students, and creates a number of opportunities for students to connect to the city both socially and professionally, explained Quigley. "We're really good at connecting people to the groups or organizations or enterprises that make sense for them." They also hold a monthly mixer where citizens can come out to discuss what's happening in London and how to get involved. "Other than that, we're just really cool!" he chuckled.
For more information on the November 17 Work In London symposium, check out emergingleaders.ca/advocacy/elsymposium.
