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The Generation Iowa Commission, YP Iowa and other groups are giving young professionals a stronger and more unified voice about what they need to remain in the state.

And they have some facts to make their case.

According to a recent Generation Iowa Commission report, Iowa is one of the top Midwest states for importing college students, but loses many of them after graduation. A 2008 survey of 1,000 Iowans showed that the main reason people leave is for higher-paying jobs in their field of study. Someone with a four-year degree tends to make $9,302 less in Iowa compared with the median U.S. wage. In addition, only 12.2 percent of current jobs in Iowa require a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Attracting and retaining young people is becoming more crucial for companies as the Baby Boomer generation retires and the state worries about a looming worker shortage, a concern that may have been slightly mitigated by the recession.

Still, companies are aiming recruiting and retention efforts toward this group, touting other factors besides wages that matter to this demographic, including amenities and a lower cost of living.

Generation Iowa and young professional groups also are pushing for new laws and initiatives designed to make Iowa more attractive for this group.

Facts to action

A Dartmouth College business school graduate with job offers from firms in London, Hong Kong and New York, Christian Fong instead returned to Iowa because “this is home.”

“I knew I was making an economic sacrifice, and it’s unfortunate,” Fong said. “Iowans should not have to make an economic sacrifice to live here.”

The Cedar Rapids-based head of capital markets for AEGON USA Realty Advisors Inc. is passionate about solving this problem, and has educational and work experience at McKenzie Consulting to know how to lay out the government data that shows a need for change.

As vice chair of the Generation Iowa Commission, Fong has helped draft two status reports for the state since the 15-member panel was formed in 2007, including the most recent one that showed the huge wage gap Iowans with a bachelor’s degree or higher face compared with wages in the rest of the nation and the lack of jobs that require a college degree.

“What we discovered is brain drain at its core is an economic development issue,” Fong said. “Brain drain is just the symptom of a lack of a sector that can provide jobs for people with advanced degrees.”

By looking at the facts and with a survey of why people were leaving the state, the Generation Iowa Commission narrowed its priorities down to four last year and has since focused on the two that don’t require additional funding from the state.

The first is to address Iowa’s wage gap by making programs, such as the High Quality Job Creation Program administered by the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED), more focused on creating high-wage, high-education jobs rather than just more jobs.

Mike Tramontina, director of the IDED, which provides administrative support to the Generation Iowa Commission, said that under current law, for companies to receive money through the job creation program, they have to pay a qualifying wage equaling 135 percent of the average wage, which can be achieved by combining both wages and benefits. His department is recommending that the Legislature pass a rule that would allow benefits to count for no more than 10 percent of the total wage to meet that threshold.

The second effort is to require that a “next-generation” person be on all of the state’s boards and commissions, especially the Vision Iowa board. Though young people can apply to be on these boards now, Fong said, they sometimes have a perception that only experienced politicians hold these positions.

State Sen. Brad Zaun has introduced a bill that would require two of the four general public members on the Vision Iowa board to be under the age of 35, but so far, the bill has not come to a vote. Zaun was interested in such a measure after seeing the impact of having a high school student on the Parks and Recreation Commission when he was mayor of Urbandale; the student’s input led to the construction of a skateboarding park in Walker Johnston Park.

Zaun, 32, has been a proponent of other initiatives that would support the young professional class, such as a bill last year that would have allowed people under the age of 30 to not pay state income taxes.

The Generation Iowa Commission’s other two priorities are to expand the IDED Iowa Internship program, creating more job opportunities for young Iowans in target industries, and to provide broader education benefits to volunteers in AmeriCorps.

These priorities have also become a part of the IDED’s efforts. The department is seeking to expand its internship program (which provides half the wage for an intern over the summer in a qualifying small to medium-sized business) by gaining legislative approval to reallocate some of its resources. It also supports legislation that would exempt AmeriCorps staff from paying state income taxes.

But one difference between the IDED and the commission, Tramontina said, is “they’re a little more focused on college graduates and above, and the economic development strategy we’re focused on is creating high-quality jobs generally, and those may well be filled with people who have two or more years of community college.”

Another priority of the Generation Iowa Commission is to update its best practices guide for businesses on how to attract and retain people ages 22 to 35. As part of this effort, commission members have been meeting with human resources departments and industry groups to share their research and talk about initiatives companies can use, such as raising starting salaries by 5 to 10 percent and flattening out compensation later, working on a corporate reputation for environmental and community responsibility, providing internships and allowing use of modern communication technology and a flexible work schedule.

“We are finding that once people are inside companies, you can sell them on what a great place this is to work and all of the side benefits of working with an Iowa company with Iowa values,” Fong said.

Grassroots effort

YP Iowa has taken a different approach to building Iowa’s young work force. As development director for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation and an Iowa native who moved back after five years in Colorado, Wade Den Hartog has been leading YP Iowa’s efforts to provide resources for young professionals and support the development of YP groups across the state.

“I probably get a call once every other week at least of a community across the state that wants to start a YP group or inquiring about how to do it,” Den Hartog said.

Currently, Iowa has more than 100 young professional groups, about half of which are Jaycees organizations. Communities such as Boone and Newton also are looking to add groups.

It’s a “vehicle to come together, connect and really socialize and know that those people do exist in their community,” Den Hartog said.

Another program that he expects to launch in the next 30 to 45 days is an ambassador program, where young professionals in Iowa communities will be paired with someone looking to return to the state. The ambassador will provide information about resources and amenities in the community and job references.

Corporate support

Though not all businesses have worked directly with the Generation Iowa Commission or YP Iowa on these initiatives, they have taken some measures of their own to attract and retain this demographic.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield partnered with the Young Professionals Connection in Des Moines to host an internship event on generational differences in the workplace at its offices last summer. Loran Storts, team leader of recruiting and hiring at Wellmark, said the event helped the company form connections with key people in the Des Moines area that it could tap to fill future job vacancies.

Though the company said it tries to attract people of all ages and talents, it also has added some benefits that are especially enticing to young professionals. New this year, Wellmark is providing $5,000 per year for student loan repayments, which can be combined with money for continuing education courses up to $10,000 per year.

Emily Forrester, human resources coordinator for RSM McGladrey Inc., said she sends potential young recruits to www.consideriowa.com, designed to expose Iowa college students to career and lifestyle opportunities in Iowa. The company also pays for membership in a young professional organization.

“At this point, thankfully, we really haven’t had a hard time filling entry-level needs with young talent,” she said.