By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Thursday’s Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Government Forum focused on one of the region’s critical needs – attracting and maintaining a qualified workforce.
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Jim Parsons provided the opening comments at Thursday’s Government Forum luncheon at BB&T Arena (photos by Mark Hansel).
“Why NKY’s Talent Attraction & Retention is Critical for Kentucky’s Bottom Line,” featured a panel that provided a range of perspectives on the issue.
Garren Colvin, President and CEO, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport CEO Candace McGraw and Eric Summe, president and CEO, meetNKY, fielded questions from NKY Chamber Vice President and COO Gene Kirchner, the event moderator.
The luncheon took place at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
Kirchner started the conversation by asking the panel to provide insights as to why workforce has become possibly the region’s greatest challenge.
McGraw said that at CVG there are several factors, but much of it is spurred by growth. Last year CVG was the fastest growing airport in the country in terms of both passengers and cargo.
“That growth can only continue if we keep stoking the fire in terms of workforce availability,” McGraw said. “That’s all skill levels, from the unskilled labor that are loading bags, et cetera, up through air force mechanics.”
CVG just cut the ribbon on a new hangar, which needs to hire 100 aircraft mechanics at a base salary of between $65,000 and $70,000 per year, and it is having a problem filling those positions.
“We have to start figuring out a way to feed the pipeline and keep the growth going,” McGraw said.
CVG has a large workforce across a broad campus of roughly 7,500 acres. There are about 14,000 people that wear a CVG badge to work every day and of those an estimated 480 that report directly through the airport authority.
“Of those 14,000 people that work at CVG, let’s put it into context, about 60 percent are residents of Kentucky, 30 percent residents of Ohio and 10 percent Indiana,” McGraw said. “Since 2009, when the last study was done on workforce, it’s probably grown by one third.”
DHL alone, which has a Global superhub at CVG, has increased from 900 employees in 2009 to more than 4,000 workers, at last count, and would like to hire more.
St. Elizabeth Healthcare has more than 9,000 associates and represents 10 percent of the gross domestic product of the region.
“It’s definitely an impetus to the growth and the economy of this region,” Colvin said. “Health care has a very aging population. We track the average age of our RNs and its approaching 60 years old.”
With an aging workforce and a focus on greatly improving the region’s health, which requires even more employees, Colvin said St. Elizabeth has a real challenge on its hands.
The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Government Forum luncheon featured a panel of regional leaders discussing workforce. Panelists, left to right are Eric Summe, president and CEO, meetNKY, CVG CEO Candace McGraw, and Garren Colvin, president and CEO, St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Gene Kirchner (standing) moderated the discussion.
“In the last four years, have hired about 1,200 individuals per year and if you look at our RN-specific rates, we are probably hiring anywhere from 300 to 500 per year,” Colvin said. “We’re fortunate that NKU, Gateway, and a lot of local programs are producing RNs.”
Colvin said more registered nurses have probably come to St. Elizabeth from NKU than any other institution.
Summe said many people don’t realize the role tourism plays in workforce development and employee retention.
“We get our statistics from the Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet in Frankfort and the value of tourism jobs and jobs in hospitality really stand out,” Summe said. “I think some of you might be surprised to know that of the tourism jobs in the entire Commonwealth, we have 10 percent of them.”
At any given time, there are 15,000 people employed in some form of hospitality in Northern Kentucky.
Summe said as Northern Kentucky has continued to grow, the focus of meetNKY has expanded from attracting workers in the tourism industry to partnering with employers in efforts to convince people to remain in, or relocate to, the Northern Kentucky region.
An issue of increasing importance to young professionals, which the region must attract and retain if it is to continue to prosper, is having a sense of place.
“Sense of place is keenly important for our business at the airport, people coming back, but I think the other important thing is creating a sense of community,” McGraw said. “I’m on a real kick now of involving young professionals in decision making at every level.”
Engaging young professionals and students early on through internships and other programs, McGraw said, will encourage them to embrace living in the region.
“If you hook these kids in young and get them excited to create a sense of community, that will continue to create that great sense of place and (encourage) them to stay here,” McGraw said.
The primary role of meetNKY, Northern Kentucky’s convention and visitors bureau, is to market and promote the region for visitors, but Summe said tourism also provides an opportunity to showcase the region.
“We have had a number of very significant events that have affected the tourism industry in the last couple of years,” Summe said. “All of you should know that the element of faith-based tourism has significantly increased with the development of the Creation Museum in Petersburg and the Ark Encounter (in Grant County). That has fostered a lot of growth in Florence and Boone County which has a lot of the region’s hotel inventory.”
A large crowd attended Thursday’s NKY Chamber Government Forum luncheon at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
In its peak season, Summe said the Ark Encounter brings up to 70 buses a day of visitors who may be seeing Northern Kentucky for the first time and might otherwise not travel to the region.
Increasing the workforce participation rate and finding solutions to the region’s transportation challenges were also identified as barriers to attracting and maintaining a qualified workforce. McGraw praised Andy Aiello, general manager of the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), for his efforts to work with the region’s employers to address the transportation challenges.
The forum also featured an update on the recently introduced GROW NKY effort to attract and retain talent across the region.
While the organizations represented by the panelists have all contributed to the effort, in the last three years, St. Elizabeth Healthcare has invested more than $12 million in workforce.
“A lion’s share of that is here at NKU with the Health Innovation Center,” Colvin said. “In addition to that, we have a significant investment in a scholarship fund that has helped bring new students in the field of medicine. Our partnership with UK, NKU and St. Elizabeth to bring the first medical school to this campus will produce much-needed physicians in our community.”
Colvin has identified making Northern Kentucky one of the country’s healthiest community, which he knows is a tall order, but says that will also make the region more attractive to potential workers.
“If we can get this community healthier and not lead the nation in a lot of the negative statistics…then we’ll be able to address the workforce issues more effectively,” Colvin said.
The luncheon discussion was presented in conjunction with the October meeting of the Interim Joint Committee meetings for Appropriations and Revenue. The daylong series of meetings attracted more than 40 state legislators.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
