GSMP Hosts Keynote Speaker, Panelist For 2017 Economic Outlook

“In the past, the rule in business was ‘If you build it they will come,’” Shabaka aid Gibson. “With the advancements in communication technology, businesses now settle on the areas that have the right talent. Today, successful economic development rests partially on a community’s ability to strengthen and sell its talent assets.”

By, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

The Greater San Marcos Partnership hosted the 2017 Economic Outlook Thursday, May 18.

The luncheon brought local legislatures, city officials, community investors, sponsors and businesses together for a look at what makes the innovation corridor America’s next great metropolis.

The event involved keynote speaker, Shabaka Gibson, senior Vice President of Ady Advantage.

It is exceedingly crucial for communities to retain and grow the talent in their workforce was the emphasis of Gibson’s message.

Gibson said first, communities have to identify who they are and what drawbacks a city might have. He encouraged officials to delve deeper into the issues that could cause people, like college graduates, to leave versus remain in the community: lack of housing, diversity in age groups or availability of jobs.

“Millennials want to be where Millennials are,” Gibson said. “Anybody wants to be where like-minded individuals are.”

Gibson talked about initiatives done by other communities to keep or draw people to their own small towns.

One initiative in Kansas helps students pay off student loans by giving the student $3,000 a year for simply living in town.

“The goal isn’t to get that new graduate to stay in the community for five years,” Gibson said. “The goal is to get them to stay there for 30 or 40 years or the rest of their lives.”

The economic outlook also included a panel of representatives from the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas State University, Gary Job Corps and Austin Community College.

According to Commissioner Ruth Hughs of the Texas Workforce Commission, a panel member, Texas has the 2^nd largest economy in the united states.

The innovation, technology region has a 3.6 – 4.1 employment rate, which is lower than the state and national average.

“There are a number of places around the country that have all three components (Major University, job training facility and community college) together,” Gibson said. “There are very few places where they’re all working together, so in a sense, you guys are really unique.”

Gibson said the growth in the Greater San Marcos Area has provided the region with a unique opportunity and natural need to work with other entities, such as Gary Job Corps, Austin Community College and Texas State University.

The San Marcos Economic Outlook is an annual event started in 2005 and hosted by the Greater San Marcos Partnership. The event looks at the state of the regional economy of the “Innovation Corridor,” which includes Hays, Caldwell, Guadalupe and Blanco counties.

Forbes recently hailed the Austin-San Antonio region as “America’s Next Great Metropolis” with San Marcos at the heart of the momentum.

With recent major announcements like Best Buy’s first and only Texas e-commerce sales operation center and Coast Flight’s new training facility at the San Marcos Regional Airport, along with Amazon’s monumental first holiday season, our boom is just getting started.

With the ever-changing landscape of the economy and the constant evolution of jobs, what should we expect to see coming up from employers and how are we in the corridor working to train our talent to fill those jobs of the future?

“In the past, the rule in business was ‘If you build it they will come,’” Said Gibson. “With the advancements in communication technology, businesses now settle on the areas that have the right talent. Today, successful economic development rests partially on a community’s ability to strengthen and sell its talent assets.”

The five panelists were Commissioner Ruth Hughs, Texas Workforce Commission, Dr. Daniel Brown, Texas State University, Dr. Charles Cook, Austin Community College, Chester Jenke, Central Texas Technology Center, and Lonnie Hall, Gary Job Corps. The moderator Aaron Demerson, Texas Workforce Commission.