Talent Dividend Work

What to do in a community where getting students to college is not only an academic, cultural, and social challenge, but a physical challenge, too. 

Human resources directors in Wichita have been receiving some friendly visitors this summer: Ambassadors from local higher education institutions.

For many employers, bringing on interns seems like a great idea, until someone asks the inevitable questions: What will an intern get out of this internship? Do we have enough for an intern to do? Who's going to manage our internship program? What kind of paperwork do we have to do? But Baton Rouge is one step ahead. 

Talent Dividend efforts in Cleveland are built on two cornerstones: data, and a declaration. 

"Working adults are kind of the missing piece" of college attainment efforts, says Susan Kannel, Associate Vice President of CAEL. "Once they're in the workplace, they kind of get lost." Denver's Talent Dividend efforts, led by CAEL's Denver offices, are trying to change that.

On July 2, Memphis Talent Dividend celebrated the grand opening of Graduate Memphis, a staffed college resource center for adults, at the main branch of the Memphis Public Library.

Milwaukee's Talent Dividend Initiative is being recognized as "not just a thought leader, but a convener" -- a force for bringing together over 150 groups from businesses, state and local government, higher education, and economic development into a "network of networks" for powering growth in the region.