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PAGE 3
(G) WHILE THE ORGANIZERS OF THE CONFERENCE
MAY FEEL THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LEAVING IN
LARGE NUMBERS—LOCAL SCHOOLS DON’T ALWAYS
KEEP STATISTICS THAT BEAR THAT OUT- NEITHER DO
THE CORPORATIONS WE CHECKED WITH--
SUNY GENESEO IS ONE SCHOOL THAT DOES. HERE
ARE SOME FACTS AND FIGURES FROM THE SCHOOL.
IN 1999 THE RATE FOR GENESEO GRADS
OBTAINING WORK IN THE GENESEE VALLEY REGION
WAS 34 POINT THREE PERCENT. THAT’S UP FROM
ABOUT 32 PERCENT IN 1998- BUT DOWN- FROM NINE
YEARS AGO- WHEN THAT RATE WAS 40 PERCENT.
OTHER LOCAL SCHOOLS COULDN’T GIVE US
FIGURES.
ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN – ROCHESTER
GRADUATES A LOT OF FOLKS - OF THE 60 LARGEST
METRO AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES—
ROCHESTER GRANTS THE THIRD HIGHEST NUMBER
OF DEGREES IN THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES,
BIOLOGICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES- AND MATHEMATICS.
WE ARE 8TH IN GRADUATING ENGINEERS.
PAGE 4
(G) SO, WHY ARE OUR COLLEGE GRADUATES
LEAVING THE AREA IN SEARCH OF THEIR FIRST JOB?
AND- WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
"NEED TO KNOW’S" MATT CUMMINGS
SEARCHED FOR SOME ANSWERS.
((***PKG***))
REPORTER: YOU JUST GRADUATED AFTER FOUR
YEARS OF COLLEGE. READY AND WILLING TO WORK.
BUT JUST WHERE DO WANT THAT FIRST JOB TO BE.
WILL IT BE ROCHESTER OR SOMEPLACE ELSE?
Bob Swiert: I will definitely go. I want a
PhD in computer science. So I’ll be leaving
and it’s pretty unlikely that with a PhD in
computer science that I’ll ever come back.
Scott Wlliamson: For me all points show I’ll
probably end up in Rochester. I do know that
grad school is in my future. But if I leave
for a couple of years, I know this is where I’m
going to end up.
REPORTER: MIXED ANSWERS FROM A COUPLE OF
LOCAL STUDENTS. AREA COLLEGES ARE ALSO
REPORTING MIXED NUMBERS WHEN TRACKING WHETHER
THEIR GRADUATES. THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
REPORTS ABOUT 10 PERCENT OF EACH OF THEIR
GRADUATING CLASSES REMAINS IN ROCHESTER.
HOWEVER, GENESEO REPORTS 30 TO 40 PERCENT OF
THEIR GRADUATES STAY IN THE ROCHESTER REGION.
VARYING NUMBERS, BUT ENOUGH OF A CONCERN FOR
RIT PRESIDENT DR. ALBERT SIMONE TO CALL LOCAL
EDUCATORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS TOGETHER TO
DISCUSS WHY STUDENTS LEAVE ROCHESTER IN SEARCH
OF THEIR FIRST JOB AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY CAN
DO TO KEEP THEM HERE.
Dr. Albert Simone: There is a greater
percentage of people planning to leave upstate
New York than there is from any other state in
the country. The age group most likely to
leave is the 18-30 year old age group.
REPORTER: THAT AGE GROUP INCLUDES ROCHESTER’S
COLLEGE GRADUATES. ACCORDING TO RIT’S MANNY
CONTOMONOLIS, ROCHESTER IS FACING THE
INCREASING CHALLENGE OF RETAINING IT’S LOCAL
GRADUATES.
Manny Contomanolis: We have to remember
that we are competing. In the eyes of
employers, we are one potential supplier and
not the only supplier. It is a market where
students have a lot of choices. Probably more
than they ever have before.
REPORTER: CONTOMONOLIS SAYS ROCHESTER IS
NOW DISCOVERING WHAT OTHER AREAS OF THE
COUNTRY HAVE ALREADY, EMPLOYERS MUST WORK
HARDER THAN EVER TO ATTRACT NEW TALENT,
ESPECIALLY THOSE IN TECHNICAL AREAS WHERE
DEMAND IS HIGH ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
Manny Contomanolis: So employers now are
recognizing that you just can’t rely on your
reputation or visibility in the community to
draw the best candidates to you. We are most
definitely not holding on to at least in this
community the numbers of college graduates and
especially technical college graduates that we
should be because clearly for our community
here there’s a shortage of these people.
REPORTER: AGGRESSIVE RECRUITING BY AREA
EMPLOYERS IS ONE ANSWER. BUT FURTHER ANSWERS
CAN BE FOUND IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS
STUDENTS GO THROUGH WHEN SEARCHING OUT JOBS
AND WEIGHING OFFERS. WE GATHERED A PANEL OF
TWO LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENTS AND TWO RECENT
GRADUATES TO FIND OUT HOW THEY WILL SELECT
WHERE THEY WANT TO WORK.
Stacy Hubbard: I think that if the salary
was the most important thing then I would go
to New York. I guess it’s important, but it’s
not important enough to go to a place I don’t
think I’m going to like.
Denise Ambrose: I believe there’s
incentives. I know in the town of Greece they’re
offering graduates to get they’re master
degrees for free. And having an incentive like
that helps certainly to get you to stay.
Manny Contomanolis: You always have to put
yourself in the mind of a young man or woman
who’s working on their college degree. Who’s
now looking at a horizon that is far broader
and far more accessible than the generation
before them.
REPORTER: ADD TO THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF
OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY. AS CORPORATIONS
EXPAND, EVERYTHING FROM SPORTS TEAMS TO HOTELS
AND RESORTS FOLLOW. LEADING TO THE INEVITABLE.
Manny Contomanolis: Those companies attract
young people. And most young people want to be
with other young people. It just sounds sexier
and more exciting to be someplace away from
what you know. And I think for a lot of
students it’s that whole notion of
familiarity sometimes breeds indifference.
Stacy Hubbard: I think warmer weather
definitely. I mean a lot of my friends are
saying I’m going south after I graduate
because I can’t stand the weather here.
Bob Swiert: It’s hard to think of
Rochester as a place that has a lot of sort of
new things going on. Fresh things going on in
the economy.
REPORTER: WITH REASONS FOR GRADUATES TO
LEAVE, THE PRESSURE FALLS TO AREA EMPLOYERS TO
TAKE A MORE PROACTIVE AND INNOVATIVE APPROACH
WHEN RECRUITING GRADUATES AND SELLING THE
ROCHESTER AREA.
David Hunke: Here we are sitting in a
market that ranks anywhere from mid teens to
mid 20’s in terms of production of graduates
in some of the hard sciences and many of the
companies here are not aggressively recruiting
on our own campuses.
REPORTER: DAVID HUNKE IS THE PRESIDENT AND
PUBLISHER OF THE ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND
CHRONICLE. HE SAYS LOCAL COMPANIES MUST CHANGE
WITH THE TIMES FOR ROCHESTER TO SUCCEED.
David Hunke: We’d be foolish not to do
everything we could do. In fact, it’d be a
little irresponsible to our businesses if we
weren’t making an effort to recruit them. If
we don’t find a way to keep them, this
region is going to undershoot its horizon for
the next ten years on what it could be and
where it could be.
REPORTER: RECRUITING NEW STUDENTS WILL
REQUIRE NEW THINKING. IN THE PAST, IT WAS
ASSUMED YOU WANTED TO WORK IN ROCHESTER.
Manny Contomanolis: We obviously do such a
good job and that you had a good experience,
of course you’ll want to come and work with
us. What’s wrong with you that you don’t
want to do that?
REPORTER: BUT NOW THOSE OLD SCHOOLS OF
THOUGHT ARE BEING PUSHED ASIDE, AS
SMALL, START-UP COMPANIES ARE ALSO ENTERING
THE COMPETITION AND COULD BE ROCHESTER’S KEY
TO RETAINING IT’S GRADS. BUT THEY HAVE THEIR
WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM.
Manny Contomanolis: These smaller companies
very often don’t have the resources and the
time to invest in those kinds of partnership
building opportunities with institutions and
with students.
David Hunke: I just think that where we
truly have the growth for these young people,
we’ve not somehow matched those companies
with the placement and recruiting process on
those campuses.
REPORTER: THREE OF OUR FOUR PANEL MEMBERS
SAY THEY HOPE TO LIVE AND WORK IN ROCHESTER
AND FEEL CONFIDENT ROCHESTER HAS A PLACE FOR
THEM.
Denise Ambrose: I grew up in the area. I
think it’s a great place to live. As a
future teacher, I think it would be a great
way to give back to the community because I
think I received a great education in high
school and throughout.
Scott Williamson: There being 8 colleges in
the area, and I really want to work in higher
education, I have a great opportunity to stay
here and achieve a lot of things. But just the
diverse opportunities not only in jobs but so
many other things to do in Rochester.
(E) IN A MOMENT WE’LL TALK WITH A LOCAL
COMPANY THAT’S ACTUALLY OFFERING INCENTIVES
TO YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN- TO STAY IN THE AREA---
I’M ELISSA MARRA- YOU ARE WATCHING
"NEED TO KNOW"- AND WE’RE PLEASED
TO BE JOINED IN OUR STUDIO FOR THIS PROGRAM-
BY BURTON NADLER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF
ROCHESTER CAREER CENTER AND GAIL MURRAY- XEROX’S
MANAGER OF CORPORATE STAFFING-
((***TALK #1 SEGMENT***))
TALK POINTS:
1) Is this idea that we are
losing local grads. more than before
overblown? Isn’t it logical to assume grads.
will want to move on and from what they
already know here?
- Do students understand how the focus of
the Rochester job market is shifting to
small companies and that there are many
opportunities here for them?
- Should we be selling Rochester to
students or students to our employers?
- Beyond co-ops and internships, what can
employers do to reach students?
- Has Rochester’s ability to absorb
recent layoffs forced grads to look
elsewhere?
6) Is a logical explanation that we can’t
expect all of our grads. to have the same
values and interests that Rochester appeals to
at the same time in life? That as a family
oriented city, shouldn’t we be pursuing
people in their late 20’s, early 30’s who
might be starting a family?
(E) HOLD THOSE THOUGHTS- WE ARE COMING BACK
TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS IN A MOMENT- IF YOU
WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION-
CALL US AT 258-0250— LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS
ON OUR VIEWER RESPONSE LINE- OR LOG ON TO WXXI
DOT ORG---AND DISCUSS OUR TOPIC ON OUR NEED TO
KNOW DISCUSSION BOARD- GARY?
PAGE 6
(G) WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ONGOING
STUDENT EXODUS FROM OUR AREA- IT IS HAPPENING-
BUT SOME UNIVERSITIES AND COMPANIES ARE
WORKING TO TURN IT AROUND-
THEY BELIEVE…
IF YOU BUILD IT- THEY WILL COME--
"NEED TO KNOW’S"
JENNIFER REED HAS THE STORY.
((***PKG***))
((NAT SOUND @ E-CENTER))
>>REP: E-COMMERCE. IT’S THE WAVE OF
THE FUTURE- AND A LOT OF COLLEGE GRADUATES ARE
PLANNING TO CATCH A RIDE-
>>Jeff Burke/CEO NetSetGo: "When
you think about the state of e-commerce- a lot
of people are saying where are we in the
spectrum? We’re at the very early stages. We’re
going to see a mass movement towards
electronic commerce over the next five years
and it’s going to be a tremendous change
over the way business has been done in the
past."
>>REP: SO IF DOT-COM IS THE WAY TO
GO- THE NEXT QUESTION IS—WHERE SHOULD YOU
GET ON?
>>Burke: "I believe we have
tremendous opportunity in Rochester. There are
16 local universities that act as a terrific
feeder base. The talent pool here in Rochester
is really significant. One of the things we
want to do is we want to seed our business
with talent that will work with us- not only
today- but more importantly, down the road.
"
>>REP: JEFF BURKE- A FORMER XEROX
EXECUTIVE, FOUNDED NETSETGO JUST OVER A YEAR
AGO. THE HOMEGROWN COMPANY IS A FULL-SERVICE
E-COMMERCE AND INTERNET PROVIDER FOR SMALL TO
MEDIUM SIZE BUSINESSES ACROSS THE NATION.
>>Burke: "We started growing
through acquisitions last September- We
acquired our first company; we’ve acquired
nine companies since then- today we have 300
employees in six states. In Rochester, we
probably have about 140 employees."
>>Rep Question: "What would you
say the median age is?
>>Burke: "Well, that’s a funny
question because at 42 years old- I feel like
an elder Statesmen- and I didn’t feel that
way at Xerox- I would say that the median age
is probably around 30 or less- in the
company."
>>REP: NETSETGO SETS ITS SIGHTS- AND
THE FUTURE OF ITS SUCCESS ON ATTRACTING
COLLEGE STUDENTS TO THE COMPANY-
>>Burke: "We try to get people
that are in their Junior-Senior year to join
us."
>>REP: WITH HELP FROM AREA SCHOOLS-
SELECTED STUDENTS ARE FIRST HIRED ON A
PART-TIME BASIS, THEN THEY WORK THROUGH A FULL
TIME CO-OP PROGRAM- WITH THE GOAL OF PERMANENT
EMPLOYMENT- RIGHT AFTER GRADUATION.
BURKE SAYS THE STUDENTS HAVE SUPERIOR
TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING- AND A LOT OF
ENTHUSIASM!
>>Burke: "But what they don’t
have- is the corporate experience of working
in a company. In order to make a student
successful long term- we really assign a
mentor- a manager mentor that can help get
them acclimated to our company in a
professional working environment and create
success for both our company as well as the
student."
>>REP: NETSETGO HASN’T HAD ANY
TROUBLE FINDING MENTORS- IT SAYS ROCHESTER IS
PRIME FOR MANAGERS LOOKING FOR A CAREER MOVE.
>>Burke: "When you look at the
larger companies that are here- Xerox, Kodak,
Bausch & Lomb- there’s a tremendous
experience base in terms of management."
We have the right company focus- I think we
have the right University population- we
certainly aim to put Rochester on the map on a
national basis."
>>REP STANDUP: "SO WILL
ROCHESTER BE THE NEXT SILICON VALLEY?
SOME STUDENTS WE TALKED WITH SAY IT COULD
BE- BUT FOR THEM TO STAY- THEY WANT THINGS
THEIR WAY, NOT NECESSARILY THE TRADITIONAL
WAY."
>>Chad Heitcenrater/Software
Engineering Intern: "Is it a relaxed
environment? Or is it one where I have to wear
a suit and tie everyday?"
>>Burke: "It’s very informal-
there’s no dress code."
>>Heitcenrater: "Do they have
things like a gym, do they do company picnics?
Are we really going to be part of some huge
corporation where we’re just numbers? It’s
not a market where we have a lot of problem
finding jobs."
>>Burke: "We offer stock
options, we offer tuition payment- trying to
create that loyalty factor. In trying to
figure out what employees wanted that would
satisfy them- and increase their satisfaction
in their jobs- we found out- that they wanted
soda- free soda."
>>REP: SO WHILE NETSETGO IS STOCKING
THE FRIDGE AND BUILDING UP ITS COMPANY- IT
SAYS EMPLOYEES- BOTH NON-TRADITIONAL AND
TRADITIONAL- ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE NOTICE OF
PERSONAL GAINS- FROM THE SUBTLE CAN OF SODA-
TO THE NOT SO-SUBTLE GROWING STOCK PORTFOLIO
VESTED WITH A DOT-COM COMPANY- RIGHT HERE IN
ROCHESTER.
(E) DESPITE NET SET GO’S PROGRAM-
COMPANIES WE TALKED TO INCLUDING KODAK-- SAID-
WHILE THEY ENCOURAGE AND RECRUIT LOCAL GRADS—
IN THE END THEY ARE LOOKING FOR THE BEST
PERSON FOR THE JOB-WHETHER OR NOT THAT PERSON
IS LOCAL.
WE ARE BACK IN STUDIO NOW TO TALK ABOUT
STEMMING THE FLOW OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE
ROCHESTER AREA- WE HAVE WITH US- BURTON NADLER
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER CAREER CENTER
AND GAIL MURRAY- XEROX’S MANAGER OF
CORPORATE STAFFING-
((***TALK #2 SEGMENT***))
TALK POINTS:
*NETSETGO SEEMS TO BE QUITE A SUCCESS
STORY- ITS PROJECTING REVENUES TO EXCEED
100-MILLION DOLLARS BY JANUARY-- AND THEN OVER
ONE-BILLION- BY THE YEAR 2005- AND IT’S
GROWING RAPIDLY--
*WE HEARD THAT SILICON
VALLEY IN SAN HOSE IS JUST THAT- IT’S A
SYMBOL- NOT REALLY A REALITY ANYMORE- BECAUSE
OF CONGESTION, POPULATION, REAL ESTATE COST—THIS
NEW TECH GENERATION IS ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR A
REAL PLACE—TO SETTLE DOWN… DOESN’T THAT
MEAN A PRIME OPPORTUNITY FOR START-UP
COMPANIES OR TO RE-JUVENATE OLDER ONES?
(E) MANY THANKS TO MY GUESTS FOR BEING WITH
US –
GARY?
(G) THE MUSIC WORLD SUFFERED A GREAT LOSS
LAST WEEK- AT AGE 77- LATIN-JAZZ LEGEND
TITO PUENTE DIED AFTER COMPLICATIONS FROM
OPEN HEART SURGERY.
JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, MISTER PUENTE WAS IN
TOWN- AND NEED TO KNOW TALKED TO HIM ABOUT HIS
MUSIC- AND HIS LIFE--
WE THOUGHT IN HIS MEMORY- WE WOULD SHARE IT
WITH YOU--- ONCE AGAIN…
((***PKG***))
(G) "QUE PASA ROCHESTER"- WXXI’S
SPANISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAM WILL AIR A SPECIAL
TRIBUTE TO TITO PUENTE TOMORROW NIGHT AT SIX-
RIGHT HERE ON WXXI.
(E) YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT WXXI AND VOICE OF
THE VOTER WAS HOST TO HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
LAST MONTH.
MRS. CLINTON PARTICIPATED IN A VOICE OF THE
VOTER TOWN HALL MEETING.
WE HAVE EXTENDED AN INVITATION TO MRS.
CLINTON’S REPUBLICAN OPPONENT- RICK LAZIO
AND WILL HAVE MORE DETAILS OF THAT VOICE OF
THE VOTER EVENT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
(E) DON’T FORGET TO CHECK IN WITH ALL THE
LATEST ELECTION NEWS—WITH NY-ELECTION DOT
ORG- A PUBLIC SERVICE ON NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC
TELEVISION STATIONS.
(G) AND THAT’S’ ALL WE HAVE TIME-
(E) JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER
EDITION OF NEED TO KNOW.
(G) SEE YOU THEN--
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