Call to Action: All Employers Can Help Reduce Indiana's ''Brain Drain''; Employers Should Consider Employment of Interns in the New Year.

Business Editors

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 2, 2003

The brain drain in Indiana is not a myth. What many people don't know is countless highly talented and eager graduates from Indiana's world-class colleges and universities want to stay in Indiana but don't. Why? Because they do not have a clear understanding of available employment opportunities in Indiana and hence, go elsewhere to find employment.

The brain drain in Indiana has the potential to become a serious problem, limiting economic expansion and workforce development, as well as adversely affecting the quality of life in Indiana. At a time when intellectual capital is critical to economic growth in Indiana, putting a stop to the brain drain is imperative. Statistics show once college graduates leave Indiana, the majority do not return, placing Indiana as one of the lowest-ranking states with college graduates over the age of 25.

The primary key to Indiana college graduate retention is the availability of internships. Internship programs allow employers to build relationships with college students early, observe them in a corporate environment and get the help they need with tasks and projects. In turn, students have the opportunity to apply what they've learned in the classroom to a real work experience that gives them an edge and keeps them in Indiana. Internships are a determining factor for college graduates choosing to remain in Indiana and are therefore a powerful tool for reversing Indiana's brain drain.

Interns can play a key role in companies of all sizes - interns bring new ideas and additional skill sets to the workplace and can provide much-needed relief to the current workforce by completing meaningful tasks and projects that have been ignored due to insufficient time or talent. An internship program is also a useful tool to attract and recruit new talent: more than 50 percent of interns return for a full-time position following graduation. With that, Internship programs are a proven way to reduce recruitment time and expenditures. In fact, more than 80 percent of Fortune 500's Top 100 use internships as a strategy to find and hire talent. However, encouraging Indiana employers to offer internships remains a steep barrier to overcome. Presently, many internship and cooperative education programs in Indiana are under populated, depriving Indiana of a powerful tool for reversing the brain drain.

Every Indiana business, not-for-profit and government entity can help reduce Indiana's brain drain and can help enhance economic and workforce development. Free Indiana-based employer-student internship matching services, such as Indiana INTERNnet, provide quick and easy-to-use resources for Indiana's business, not-for-profit and government communities.

Indiana INTERNnet is a powerful Web-based searching, matching and reporting system coupled with 'high touch' personal assistance, developed to combat the brain drain by offering students exposure to valuable employment opportunities in Indiana as well as providing employers better access to local talent. Indiana INTERNnet is the only system of its kind in Indiana and has successfully matched hundreds of Indiana college students with quality internship opportunities. Through Indiana INTERNnet, employers receive consultations, resource materials and guidance in posting, creating or expanding high quality internship opportunities. And, the system is free for employers, students, colleges and universities. "Indiana INTERNnet provides employers with all the necessary tools to facilitate a successful internship program," said Stacie Porter-Bilger, director of education policy for the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. There are currently more than 6,000 students seeking internships through Indiana INTERNnet, but only 2,000 positions available.

Student-employer matching systems like Indiana INTERNnet cannot fully succeed without participation from Indiana employers. Statewide involvement and support is critical to the success of combating the brain drain. "When a business or organization hires an intern, it takes Indiana one step closer to eliminating the brain drain," said Porter-Bilger. "The recruitment and sustainability of a young, diversified, and educated population is pivotal in Indiana." It's important that employers reach out to emerging college graduates and offer one of the simplest reasons to stay in Indiana - an internship.

Indiana INTERNnet is a business-education partnership between the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, University of Indianapolis and other Indiana higher education institutions to promote the quality and quantity of internship opportunities statewide. Developed as an effort to decrease Indiana's brain drain, Indiana INTERNnet is a system for creating and expanding the use of internships and other experiential learning programs among businesses, colleges and universities in Indiana. The goal is to retain college graduates by providing them with the tools, accessibility, information, partnerships, relationships and links needed for success.