History
The Issue:
The City and County of Fresno face a unique and daunting challenge of attracting and retaining the young professional community that harbors the talent and leadership that will drive the region’s future. The Fresno Metropolitan Statistical Area (FMSA) experiences some of the highest levels of unemployment and poverty in the United States as identified in the Brookings Institution’s Report on Concentrated Poverty study and the final report of the Regional Jobs Initiative. With agriculture as the primary industry of our region, we face a shortage of jobs that are attractive to young professionals as opposed to other similar sized cities in California. The United States Census identified that the Fresno Metropolitan Area lost 1/6 of its college graduates in the 2007 census period. In addition, 52% of young professionals with a higher education degree plan to leave FMSA within 5 years of receiving their degree.
Fresno’s unemployment is the highest in the Nation and 1.6 to 2.9 times the State of California average. Talented young professionals often find better “opportunities” in other parts of the state. This is not just limited to young professionals, but also impacts businesses as high levels of unemployed people mean higher costs for unemployment insurance benefits, social services, and health services. With the FMSA having the highest rate of poverty in California, (more than 2x the state average) and with per capita income less than 32% of the state average, creative courses of action need to be taken to retain and attract young professionals.
Our Organization:
Fresno’s Leading Young Professionals (FLYP) is a local organization of 1,500 young professionals created in 2005 with the purpose of attracting and retaining young professionals in the San Joaquin Valley. FLYP has created a formalized leadership program to cultivate young professionals’ skills and springboard them into the business community and the community at large. FLYP’s programs are designed to engage young talent, make them active participants in the community and give young professionals an opportunity to get involved through social networking, professional development, and community outreach.
FLYP’s young professionals are dynamic and innovative. Our membership attracts a wide array of professions such as: teachers, engineers, doctors, attorneys, bankers, and accountants. Most of our members are in the first 10 years of their career and are looking to build relationships with other young professionals and community based organizations. The relationships that our members establish today, will be the business, philanthropic, and social fabric of tomorrow’s Fresno.
Although the target demographics of our membership are young professionals between the ages of 21- 40 years old, an integral part of FLYP’s purpose is to facilitate working relationships with established industry leaders.
We currently work with 5 regionally based strategic partners:
- California State University, Fresno
- The Central Valley Business Incubator
- The Fresno Business Council
- The Fresno Convention & Visitors Bureau
- The Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce
These organizations have seen the value that FLYP offers and provide young professionals ample opportunities to serve within their organizations.
Impacts of the Young Professional Community:
Fresno needs to keep and attract local talent. Across the country baby boomers who have led this nation are retiring at a faster rate than can be replaced.vii Today, young professionals are faced with many employment options and therefore, luring and retaining top talent has become extremely competitive. Every region has a need to attract an intelligent workforce to lead their community.
Brain drain, or the leakage of professional talent, affects regional growth, social and civic development and economic advancement. According to Next Generation Consulting, the leading market research firm on young professionals, the economic impact of losing one young professional can be calculated at 1.2 times an individual’s annualized salary. Thus, Fresno’s Brain Drain is costing local business hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. As noted in an RJI publication, the “hardest jobs to fill in our region are those that require education”
How FLYP Helps:
FLYP educates young professionals and shows them that Fresno truly is a great place to live and work. Fresno represents top universities, innovative companies, small town ease, cultural diversity, and an abundance of recreational parks. Unlike bigger cities, where it is hard to get around and stand out, Fresno is open to change and eager to work with innovative leaders, providing unique opportunities for young professionals to accelerate their career growth.
FLYP connects top local talent with other leading young professionals and organizations in the Valley. This is especially important because most local young professionals leave or stay away from Fresno because they do not feel as if there are opportunities to better themselves and grow professionally. Therefore, FLYP creates unique opportunities for young professionals to lead and serve the community. Next Generation Consulting identifies “when young professionals feel they make a difference in the community, they are 2-3 times more likely to stay.”
FLYP cultivates the leaders of tomorrow. As baby boomers retire, young professionals will need to move up in the workforce to fill top leadership positions. Young professionals bring fresh energy, vision, and passion to serve the community. Therefore, now is the time for the established leaders of today to cultivate the young professionals who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Our organization provides leadership opportunities in the community to train our future leaders such as: board member positions on FLYP’s Board of Directors, committee member and director positions on FLYP’s 5 committees, designated representation on many local nonprofit boards, and professional development training.
Conclusion
Economists understand that entrepreneurialism is the most important catalyst to a successful economy. People who start companies create jobs and help spread wealth within their community. Many of our members are entrepreneurs or plan on starting their own company in the near future. FLYP, in itself, is an entrepreneurial venture, as it is the only known young professional group in the nation that was not created nor sponsored by a parent organization such as and EDC or Chamber of Commerce.
Paving the path to attract and retain young professionals is a commitment that must be made today. FLYP stands to serve as the voice of the young professional community and is dedicated to making Fresno an even better place to live, work, and thrive.
FRESNO’S LEADING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
LEAD ∙ SERVE ∙ CONNECT
To get involved or find out more information about FLYP please visit our website: www.flypinfo.com or email flypinfo@hotmail.com.
