More jobs here than those with degrees in tech, engineering and math: Campus Philly annual meeting

Better tying employer needs with degrees conferred at regional universities is a major next step in a broad, years-long effort to bolster retention at and broaden awareness of higher learning opportunities in and around Philadelphia.
That was a primary claim from Deborah Diamond, the president of regional brain drain combatant Campus Philly, at the nonprofit’s annual meeting held at WHYY Thursday morning. Diamond was joined in Old City by Mayor Nutter, CEO for Cities President Lee Fisher and others in trumpeting the successes of the region and calling for greater heights.
“Education is economic development,” said Nutter in his address, calling for regional universities to do more outreach in the city’s poorer communities, offering summer programs and campus awareness seminars for city neighborhoods. “It will benefit us all.”
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In backing her claim, Diamond used three data points showing differences in the region between where the jobs are and where the job candidates are:

• Too many jobs: 6.3 of regional degrees are in computer science, engineering and math, yet 11 percent of regional jobs require those degrees, Diamond said, requiring the importation of talent or exportation of jobs. (Many of those IT jobs are in the suburbs, though that number is changing.)
• Too many grads: 19 percent of regional degrees are in marketing and business management, yet just one percent of jobs require those degrees, she said, meaning a lot of hunters go hungry. (Though regional graduates still can find homes.)
• Just about right: 18 percent of regional degrees are in biomedical and science and 13 percent of regional jobs require those degrees, she said, adding that other opportunities in health and life sciences make those degrees valuable here.

It was Campus Philly that unveiled a much heralded report in 2010 that showed that from 2004 to 2010, the rate of non-native college graduates who chose to stay in the region jumped by a fifth to 48 percent.
In keynoting the morning affair, Fisher, who recently joined the organization that lobbies for and connects stronger urban environments, highlighted that group’s Talent Dividend Prize, which pledges $1 million to the U.S. city that most increases its percentage of higher education degrees conferred. In its role as an umbrella group for the region’s 101 colleges and universities, Campus Philly has set a goal of 20,000 additional new degrees over recent norms.
Fisher, who led his speech with a rousing, humorous and well-received tale of going to the wrong place for the meeting, made sure to point out that an increase in per capita income by educated residents helps all, with an increase in spending.
Drexel University Senior Vice President of Enrollment Joan McDonald, who also serves as the Campus Philly board chairwoman, kicked off the morning by highlighting how important the retention battle is in an increasingly knowledge-driven economy.
“The retention of college-education talent will determine the success of cities,” she said.