TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Economists such as Richard Florida and leaders at the Milken Institute view the "talent economy" as one of the key variables to economic growth. And yet, the challenge of talent is rarely addressed in strategy by economic development professionals. In research interviews during the development of BRAC's five year strategic plan, investors frequently described the challenge of identifying and attracting experienced mid-level to senior-level professionals as an issue affecting their ability to grow their companies. These complaints are reinforced by available data on in-migration and occupational forecasts.

BRAC determined that talent must be included as one of the six core strategies of The Creative Capital Agenda, the five-year plan. Launched in late 2011, the talent development program will focus on two main areas, talent retention and talent attraction.

The talent development program will begin by featuring two main programs:

• Talent (Resume) Database
• R3 (Regional Relocation Resources)

Following our mission to lead economic development in the nine-parish area, BRAC intends to fight to win in the talent economy.