With the signature of Gov. Scott Walker Tuesday, Wisconsin will now spend almost $7 million in hopes of attracting and retaining educated millennials to bolster the state’s waning workforce numbers.
Thousands of graduates, educated at UW System schools, end up leaving the state after completing their education, as Wisconsin ranks among the bottom in the Midwest in terms of
To counter this trend, the legislation officially OK’s a $6.8 million marketing campaign coordinated by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the Departments of Workforce Development, Tourism and Veterans Affairs.
“Now that the legislation has been signed, WEDC and its agency partners can build upon the successes of in-state talent-oriented marketing and a recent paid-media campaign in Chicago,” said Tricia Braun, deputy secretary and chief operating officer of WEDC. “Our marketing efforts are designed to shift the perceptions people outside of Wisconsin have about the vast opportunities our state offers.”
The agencies’ marketing priorities will include efforts to keep college graduates in the state, advertisements in nearby states to attract young professionals and programs to employ transitioning veterans.
The first step for the new campaign — a social media push to retain Wisconsin alumni — has already begun.
“To maintain Wisconsin’s strong workforce, we must enact a proactive strategy to attract and retain people whose skills and passions align with Wisconsin’s career and quality of life attributes,” Braun said. “This legislation gives us the tools to do just that.”
