The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is one of nine Wisconsin campuses teaming up with the state’s top economic development agency to lure recent graduates back to Wisconsin.
UW-Eau Claire is working with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to encourage alumni to move back to the state. It’s part of a broader marketing campaign aimed at addressing a shortage of skilled workers at a time when the state unemployment is below 3 percent.
UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt said the campus’ alumni foundation is providing data about alumni to WEDC and sharing stories of successful graduates who stayed in the state.
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“We’re in the people development business,” said Schmidt. “We are a big piece of the equation that can ensure that area businesses have the talent they need to move themselves forward.”
The marketing campaign is also reaching out to military veterans returning to civilian life as well as millennials living in the Midwest.
WEDC Deputy Secretary Tricia Braun said they’re promoting the stories of alumni who have found good-paying jobs with companies many may not know have operations in the state.
The campaign is using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to reach out to graduates who have left the state but may be interested in coming back.
“About 85 percent of those that are from the state stay here,” said Braun. “But it’s that other 15 percent of Wisconsin that leaves and all of the out-of-state students that have come in for their education that we want to reconnect them with opportunities in Wisconsin.”
The alumni marketing campaign is part of a $6.8 million effort to draw skilled workers approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker in April.
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