Retaining and Attracting Young, Creative Talent in Cincinnati

How do cities attract creative talent? Many thought leaders have written on the subject, and what we know today is that cities need to be socially diverse, accessible, “cool”, environmentally friendly, walkable and should offer a wide range of arts and entertainment activities to attract young creative people. While these insights were developed during more robust economics times, they are not completely invalid today. People’s location choices may have slightly changed after the downturn, especially creative individuals’.

Nationally, creative occupations suffered job losses as did almost all other occupations. The Economics Center examined the composition of the creative workforce and how it has changed with the recession. Architecture and marketing are the creative practices where considerable job losses occurred during the recession. In 2009 there were 3 percent fewer architects on the payroll than in 2006, when the self-employed are also counted, this proportion increases to 7 percent. Fewer jobs mean less turnover which leads to even fewer opportunities for young talent who have very limited job experience. A majority of the new graduates could not get placed in design firms nor could they find internship positions easily.

Grim as it seems, the situation may have presented an opportunity for regions like ours, where there are good design schools and a continuous activity in creative industries. During the downturn, the Cincinnati region was able to preserve more creative jobs than the nation as a whole, adding to its competitive advantage. While marketing, arts, performance and entertainment jobs all increased, job losses in architecture were not as sharp in Cincinnati.

During this lean era, young people’s decisions on where to live are primarily driven by the availability of career opportunities, affordable costs of living and most importantly the opportunity to have a positive impact in the community. These are the elements that make cities like Cincinnati so attractive for creatives.

The current climate presents an opportunity for Cincinnati to leverage the creative talent that it already possesses. The young creatives in Cincinnati employed or unemployed contributes to the city’s future in many ways. They are sensitive to the recent development matters. A good example of it is “Bridging Broadway”. Bridging Broadway is a team of volunteers with the goal of transforming the casino and its surrounding area into a thriving downtown entertainment district that will benefit our City’s residents and businesses. This young group includes dynamic, adventurous, creative individuals from our community. They are marketers, product developers, graphic designers, architects, and urban planners who are trying make a positive change in Cincinnati. These individuals represent the valuable creative resource already present within our city.

It is critical for Cincinnati to recognize its advantages; its affordability and the presence of opportunities. This is how we retain our young talent, and attract new. The City also needs to prepare for better economic times when the competition for talent will be tougher.

If interested see http://bridgingbroadway.com/.

Contributed by Research Associate Irem Yelkenci