JumpStart Program
Leap’s JumpStart program is working to retain our region’s college graduates
No matter how the economy looks, competition’s always tight when it comes to recruiting top employees. And there’s a talent crunch coming quickly – the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a shortfall of 10 million workers in the United States by 2010.
Combating the talent crunch
To combat this coming talent crunch, Leap, Inc., is partnering with Lansing Community College, Michigan State University, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School to help area companies develop their future employees – and to help the Greater Lansing region as a whole build a more competitive work force.
More than 50,000 students attend these schools each year, giving us great opportunities to build a better work force for our region. However, we have to convince more of those students to stay here once they’ve completed their studies.
Building a better work force
It’s a fact that students who intern in the Greater Lansing region are more likely to stay here after graduating than students who don’t – the personal connections they develop during their internships make it much easier for them to stay.
Through our JumpStart work-placement program, Leap is matching top students at LCC, MSU, and Cooley with area employers who can provide them with relevant real-world experience. This gives the students a first-hand look at the realities of the workplace. It gives the employers a chance to develop employees with needed smarts and skills. And it gives our region the opportunity to build the kind of work force it needs to remain competitive in our challenging global economy.
In today’s knowledge economy, it’s not always workers following jobs to a specific region. Instead, knowledge workers often settle in the regions that offer them the best quality of life – and job opportunities follow them. Retaining more of our region’s college graduates will help us to attract the kinds of competitive companies that are looking for lots of well-educated workers.
That’s a win for everyone, but we can’t do it without your help.
Putting in a talent pipeline
We’re looking for companies that can help us grow the Greater Lansing region’s economy by providing area college students with valuable professional experience. Companies that are willing to spend some of their recruitment budgets building talent pipelines that can provide the well-educated employees they need exactly when they need them.
Companies like yours
We know that the Greater Lansing region is a great place to go to college – now we need to make it a great place to build a career after college. Please consider what your company can do to provide internship opportunities to our area’s most promising students so we can retain them after they graduate.
Getting involved
Is your company interested in participating in Leap’s JumpStart work-placement program? We’re looking forward to hearing from you! MSU’s Office of Career Services and Placement is coordinating this program – please call Internship Developer Paul Jaques at (517) 256-9285 or e-mail him at jaques@msu.edu for more information.