03-13-13 | Blog Post
Online Tech co-CEOs Yan Ness and Mike Klein will be attending the 2013 Governor’s Economic Summit next week in Detroit, Michigan to collaborate with other state leaders and contribute a Michigan hosting provider‘s perspective. Governor Rick Snyder will lead a conference devoted to creating solutions to address the state’s employer talent needs, as well as create opportunities for regional collaboration and placemaking (a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces).
This invitation-only event hosted at the Cobo Center from March 18-19 will draw in the state’s thought leaders in business, education, economic and workforce development. In a video on MichiganAdvantage.org, Snyder emphasizes the need to continue to do a better job of connecting workers with job opportunities. Despite the unemployment rate of 8 percent, there are still many unfilled job opportunities in the state.
One of the tools the state has is the job portal MIJobTalent.org – more than 63,000 job postings are available. In addition to keeping talent from the universities and community colleges in-state, Snyder talks about the need to work with the institutions to better prepare students for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers and skilled trades.
Michigan needs to do a better job of matching the supply of count with the demand for count. – Snyder
A recent AnnArbor.com article reports that about 40 percent of University of Michigan alumni live in Michigan, but many have left the state shortly after graduation, leaving an estimated 70-80,000 unfilled jobs in Michigan due to the current workforce’s lack of technical skills. Institutions and state corporations must work together to create and keep local graduates.
Enhancing the quantity and quality of our talent is critical. We are not leveraging our resources efficiently to create a talent supply that meets the demands of Michigan’s 21st century economy, Snyder said in a 14-page paper delivered to the Legislature, as quoted by AnnArbor.com. While the struggle to connect talent with employers is multifaceted, the primary reason employers are struggling to fill jobs is a mismatch between skill attainment and skill demand.
As the largest managed Michigan data center operator in the state, Online Tech will bring a unique perspective from within the growing tech industry, one of the fields that Snyder refers to when speaking to high-demand degrees and employer demand. The managed data center business is expected to grow by $18.5 billion by 2015, filling a demand for IT services, including colocation, managed servers, cloud computing and disaster recovery.
Gartner recently reported that the cloud hosting services market is expected to surpass the 2012 total of $111 billion and reach $131 billion in 2013. The fastest growing segment within the services market is infrastructure as a service (IaaS), having grown 42 percent in 2012. Another market analysis report from Gartner reports that cloud IaaS spending will exceed $72 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42 percent. Cloud infrastructure as a service providers offer virtual machines and managed/supporting services – this may include networks, firewalls, Internet connection, electrical/facilities, cloud-based disaster recovery, offsite backup, etc. The anticipated growth of the cloud and infrastructure as a service markets are key to leverage when planning long-term economic sustainability in the state of Michigan.
The economic summit will be followed by an education summit in April. A few standout agenda items for the summit include:
Michigan’s Workforce Strengths and Challenges
Speaker: Doug Rothwell, President and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan
Doug Rothwell has worked as an executive in the public, private and non-profit sectors having worked for three state Governors in two different states and two Fortune 500 companies, General Motors and Bank of America’s credit card subsidiary. He currently is President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, an organization consisting exclusively of the CEO’s from the state’s largest job providers. Business Leaders for Michigan conducts research, develops strategies, educates the public and both leads and advocates for actions to grow Michigan’s economy. He chairs the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, an organization he once founded and led, and chaired Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s Transition Team.
Michigan’s Talent Profile: Current Status and Forecast
A market overview of current and future skills needs, labor trends and high-demand career path in Michigan.
Speaker: Paul Traub, Business Economist, The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Paul Traub (BBA, MBA) currently holds the position of Business Economist at the Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago where his responsibilities include both research and current analysis. Paul currently servers on advisory boards for the Business Schools at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and Baker College in Flint, Michigan. Prior to joining the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Paul was the President of Scenario Economics LLC and Senior Economist for Americas Commercial Transportation Research Company, LLC (ACT Research).
The Coming Jobs War
A look at why jobs are the new global currency and how to compete in job creation
Speaker: Jim Clifton, CEO, Gallup
Since 1988, Jim Clifton has served as CEO of Gallup, a leader in organizational consulting and public opinion research. His most recent innovation, the Gallup World Poll, is designed to give the world’s 7 billion citizens a voice in virtually all key global issues. Mr. Clifton has pledged to continue this effort to collect world opinion for 100 years in 150 countries.
References:
Why Does Michigan Have 77,000 Unfilled Job Openings?
University of Michigan President Calls on Corporate America to Help Keep College Graduates in Michigan
2013 Governor’s Economic Summit
Gartner Says Worldwide Public Cloud Services Market to Total $131 Billion
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