Major NH Organizations Partner to Advance the 55% Initiative

LEE, NH – March 16, 2009 – Comcast, Fidelity Investments, Northeast Delta Dental, the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, and SilverTech have signed up with the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) as “Charter Partners” to further advance the 55% Initiative. A total of $60,000 in financial and in-kind support is helping move forward the effort to encourage more college graduates to stay, work, and play in New Hampshire.

The goal of the 55% Initiative is to encourage at least 55% of those who are graduating from New Hampshire’s colleges and universities on an annual basis to start their careers in New Hampshire. The effort was unveiled in 2007 and was prompted by an often-expressed concern that New Hampshire employers were unable to find enough new and recent college graduates to fill key positions in their organizations. A substantial amount of research was conducted to determine why graduates stay or leave the state, what their perceptions were in terms of jobs and salaries in New Hampshire, and their longer term plans and overall opinion about life in the Granite State.

The Charter Partners were recruited in the fall of 2008 to provide some key support and advice that would move the project from the research phase to an outreach and marketing effort aimed at the target audience, young professionals.

“The Charter Partners’ encouragement and financial support will ensure this project moves along quickly and we are grateful for their efforts,” said Stephen Reno, chancellor of USNH. “While the current economic downturn has certainly impacted hiring, there are still openings to be filled. And although the recession has also delayed decisions of many to retire, the state will, in time, face an ever larger wave of retirements. Our goal is to ensure current needs are met and that New Hampshire will be well positioned to attract and employ the new talent our workforce will need.”

Throughout the research and input phase, there was strong and consistent need expressed for a comprehensive website geared to younger workers interested in launching or advancing their careers in New Hampshire. This “Stay Work Play” website is currently being developed and will serve as a central component of the initiative. The Charter Partner funds are being used to:

Support classes of seniors at UNH in marketing workshop classes in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 to develop marketing messages, tactics and strategies that could be included in a marketing campaign and the overarching Stay Work Play website.

Assist with additional research on the overall effort and on what types of content should be featured on this website.

Produce and air dynamic Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on Comcast’s advanced fiber network, which are services being donated by the company.

Design the website through an in-kind donation from SilverTech and a matching grant awarded through the DRED Economic Development matching Grant program last fall.

Develop informational and promotional materials to help promote NH as a place to launch or advance a career and drive traffic to the site.

Support an effort to bring students from other campuses across the state to the UNH career fair in the fall of 2008.

The website will be launched in the fall of 2009 and will feature tools and content that help serve current and future young professionals start or continue a career in New Hampshire. It will include links to other sites in the state that provide related resources, and will have new social networking and interactive features that are most attractive to this target audience.

"Ensuring that our brightest young minds are encouraged to stay, work and create businesses in New Hampshire is of paramount importance to our state's ongoing economic vitality," said Department of Resources & Economic Development Commissioner George Bald. "We are pleased to join with a great team of public and private sector partners to create new opportunities for economic growth and shine a spotlight on the most livable state in the nation."

For more information on the 55% Initiative and to learn how to become involved, go to http://www.usnh.edu/initiatives/55.shtml

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