Chamber Initiatives Keep Employees Moving Here
Published May 23, 2008
Part of downtown Nashville’s “cool factor” has to do with music, which ranges from performances at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center to country at Lower Broadway’s many honky-tonks.
Attracting a qualified workforce to Nashville – and keeping it here – is a pretty easy sell. After all, the city tops numerous lists of the nation’s best places to live and work.
Jobseekers and employers alike find plentiful higher-education options, a broad-based economy, an inviting business climate, affordability and a great quality of life in Music City.
“We have a very diversified economy,” says Nancy Eisenbrandt, COO and chief workforce development officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s an affordable community, and it’s very livable – all the way from the weather to the things there are to do here … the music, the selection of restaurants, the performing arts … It’s just a very, very livable city. And you can’t forget the friendliness.”
The quality of life is reflected in the vibrancy of downtown Nashville.
In light of the quickly expanding residential neighborhood, as well as the robust office and entertainment environment, the Downtown Partnership has developed and implemented an impressive retail strategy in an effort to keep Nashville’s “cool factor” hot. Additionally, Colliers International ranked Nashville’s downtown 10th in the nation in office market construction, with 789,000 square feet of development. It is this continual improvement that aids in Nashville’s workforce attraction and retention efforts.
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce continually advances workforce development initiatives for the 10-county economic region and partners with local organizations to implement innovative programs in Nashville’s public schools – the city’s future workforce.
Brochures highlighting Nashville’s perks go to more than 250 colleges and universities outside the region, while at home, the chamber fosters a college-retention program.
“Right now about 60 percent of students who attend college here stay after graduation,” Eisenbrandt says.
She predicts that an internship template being developed by the chamber, potential employers and higher-education leaders will funnel even more graduates into the local job pipeline.
“Students that do internships go on to be very successful hires,” Eisenbrandt says.
And while it’s not exactly higher ed, the chamber’s bi-annual Cool School teaches attendees how to leverage the Music City “cool factor” to recruit top-notch employees and integrate them into the community.
Likewise, young professionals can plug into opportunities to shape the region’s future.
“We have joined with the 20/20 Leadership Alliance to staff shared programs for events such as Nashville Young Professionals Day and the Nashville Emerging Leader Awards, where we recognize up-and-coming leaders,” Eisenbrandt says. The partnership also hosts social networking events and Q&A sessions with local political leaders.
Additionally, the chamber works with Alignment Nashville, an organization that coordinates the efforts of more than 100 area organizations, to better Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
“Nashville has incredible community organizations and resources, massive expertise and a willingness to collaborate,” says Alene Arnold, associate director
of Alignment Nashville. “There is just so much motivation to positively impact the schools, which will ultimately impact the success of our city.”
Programs target MNPS goals for students from pre-K to high school.
An innovative pilot program known as Smaller Learning Communities began in eight Metro high schools in 2007-08. According to Eisenbrandt, the smaller Career Academies will focus core curriculum on a particular employment track, such as health care or science, to better prepare students for postsecondary education and a career.
Story by Carol Cowan
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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