Milwaukee Brain Drain
Representative David Bowen points out that corrections has been protected from severe budget cuts. |
Representative Bowen, President MacFarlane, and Representative Ott
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Representative David Bowen and Jonathan Dye. Jonathan, a member of the After Hours Club, was cited by Rep. Bowen as one of several successful start-up businesses in Milwaukee.
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Members listen as Rep. Bowen shares statistics supporting his premise that Milwaukee and the entire state suffer from a brain drain.
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Representative David Bowen reported that from 2009-2014, Wisconsin lost about 9,000 college graduates per year because Minneapolis and Chicago are far bigger draws than Milwaukee in terms of jobs and city living. He stated that the state needs to create incentives to encourage graduates to stay after graduation, such as lower tuition and/or loan forgiveness in exchange for remaining in Wisconsin for a certain period of time post-graduation. Other solutions could be worker training, working with employers to close the Skills Gap, and attracting high quality employers in high tech, and healthcare to Milwaukee neighborhoods that were once manufacturing hubs.
The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that 62% of Wisconsin jobs will require postsecondary degrees by 2020--only 38% will require a high school diploma or less. Rep. Bowen pointed out that community, elected officials, private sector and community leaders can work together to train and retain a skilled workforce and revolutionize Wisconsin's economy. He also touched on college affordability. The average UW student graduates with nearly $30,000 in debt, the 3rd highest amount of grad with debt in the nation. As Baby Boomers project to retire in waves, we must attract new people to our state in addition to investing in those already here.