The idea of “brain drain” plays a looming role in the greater Sarasota area. We have incredible K-12 educational institutions here that prepare so many for post-secondary education opportunities locally and nationally. But, we also watch many of those graduates leave for larger cities, for what they perceive as better opportunities and a host of other reasons. As a community, we invest a lot in these students early in their educational careers only to see the future economic benefit of that investment often realized somewhere other than Sarasota. So, what can we, as a community, do to better tell our own story of successful local businesses, industries and career pathways and keep those students here?

Recently, the Talent4Tomorrow Partnership (T4T), including T4T members Suncoast Technical College, the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, and the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, joined forces to host what was dubbed  “Experience Engineering.” This afternoon event was designed to provide a forum for those graduating seniors focusing on a future in engineering to interact with local, practicing engineers.  A secondary focus was to highlight the depth and breadth of employers that hire engineers here in the greater Sarasota area so that students were aware of the considerable possibilities in their own backyard.

It was a unique opportunity for interaction at an early stage in the higher educational process of becoming an engineer. Almost 100 students spoke with 30 engineers from 14 local firms. The level of interaction and communication was remarkable. At times, it was rather difficult to interrupt the conversations to get them to move tables to continue discussions with different students and engineers. The number one request on the post-event evaluation forms was additional personal interaction time.

In listening to the exchanges it became evident that the event was a success. Not because lunch was amazing (which it was, thanks to Bistro 502 at STC) and not because we had planned so carefully. It was a success because of the types of dialogue that participants engaged in. The engineers shed some light on why they practice in Sarasota, what a typical day entails and what the local market is like. The students asked about a course of study, challenges of the profession and potential internships. 

Creating these types of opportunities are critical to our community’s ability to eventually retain these students who will pave the future of Sarasota. Many, if not all, of them had already chosen their programs and their universities. All of them will receive excellent educational opportunities. Hopefully, with these kinds of inroads to local industries, they will intern here during summers, gain practical experience and further gain a working knowledge of the engineering profession on a local level. Ideally, they will want to return to where they grew up because they realize that Sarasota has as much, if not more, to offer in their career of choice as other communities.

Amy Farrington is vice president of Public Policy and Sarasota Tomorrow Initiatives for the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.