Targeting College Town Talent

Targeting College Town Talent

By Maria Satira, Greenville Eastern North Carolina Alliance

College towns have a unique opportunity when it comes to talent pipelines, workforce development, and student retention. According to the American Communities Project, there are 171 counties across the United States that are considered college towns and combined, they’re home to nearly 25 million people. As economic development organizations and industries look to grow their local workforce, is it essential to target marketing efforts toward college students and recent graduates who already live in the college town area.

“We’ve found a need for talent retention campaigns that target not only students in higher education but also our public high schools,” explained Josh Lewis, CEcD, president and CEO of the Greenville Eastern North Carolina (ENC) Alliance. “Over the past two years, our organization has heard from our industry partners that they need local talent in their workforce pipeline, so our team has gotten creative with ways we can promote pathways for college and high school students.”

Home to East Carolina University (ECU) and Pitt Community College (PCC), Pitt County is one of nine counties in North Carolina that the American Communities Project categorizes as a college town. Despite this, the Greenville metro has emerged as a thriving economic, educational, medical, and cultural hub of eastern North Carolina. ECU is North Carolina’s fourth largest university with nearly 27,000 students enrolled for fall 2024 and PCC is the state’s ninth largest community college with more than 18,000 students enrolled during 2023-24.

“Once students graduate their programs with degrees and certificates, we know they have options. They don’t have to stay local to launch their careers. However, we’ve also found that many grads don’t realize the opportunities available in their backyard, which happens to be a quite affordable community with a great quality of life,” added Lewis.

The Greenville ENC Alliance is the lead economic development organization in Pitt County, bringing together public, private, and educational entities to promote economic growth. As part of its efforts, it has become a high priority to market to prospective talent and meet them where they are in their educational journey. From talking to college students about their plans after graduation to getting in front of high schoolers and their parents, the organization is on a mission to showcase local opportunities, well-paying careers, and quality of life for young professionals.

“Living and working in Greenville has been incredible – there is so much to do here,” said Michael Beavans, who graduated from ECU in 2016 with a degree in industrial engineering technology. He started his career at DSM Dyneema, which later became Avient Corporation, and he is now a continuous improvement manager for the global company’s Greenville site.

“One of the biggest draws is the affordability of the area and when I compare it to larger cities, it allows for such opportunity,” added Beavans. “I was able to buy a house just a couple years into my engineering career and in many places across the country, that’s not even possible. I know that for a fact because I lived in a bigger city before moving here and I still have the ability to travel, save, and invest.”

Greenville is continuously ranked as a top place to move, most recently being named the third best city to move to in North Carolina by USA Today. In 2021, Greenville was ranked as the trendiest city in the nation for Gen-Z renters. It doesn’t hurt that the metro is also home to MrBeast, the largest YouTube brand in the world, which attracts views – and attention – from millions of Gen-Zers and younger millennials. The Greenville ENC Alliance is taking advantage of these metrics to showcase the community as a place where affordability meets opportunity.

“Our team has created talent marketing campaigns that have targeted younger generations in many ways. On a regular basis, we find ourselves on campus speaking to students, we visit area high schools, and we strategically show up at places where young people are hanging out,” shared Lewis. “This year, we coordinated a takeover at a local college bar to talk to juniors and seniors about career opportunities after graduation. We also set up a table at some local high school football games to highlight local educational options and career pathways.”

The overall goal with Greenville’s talent retention marketing campaign is to connect prospective talent ready to graduate with employers ready to hire. While these efforts have just begun, the success will be analyzed in the coming years. According to Lewis, the organization is seeing immediate results as well by having meaningful conversations and raising awareness about local career opportunities. No matter the college town, creative marketing is essential in talent retention campaigns, especially as existing business partners look to grow and new industries look to locate.