NEBANKERS.ORG 8 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE AS I WAS SI T T ING DOWN TO FINALIZE MY MAGAZINE column for the month, I received a notice from the Nebraska Department of Labor indicating the state’s unemployment rate for September had fallen to 2.0%, tied for the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded by a state. Similarly, the rate in Lincoln had dropped to 1.3%, a record low for the Capitol City. Every industry in the state, including banking, is facing monumental workforce challenges. Recent NBA analysis suggests Nebraska regularly has over 500 bank job openings. The reality is that the current workforce shortage may not subside for many years! Therefore, it is imperative the banking industry and the NBA think differently about how to attract and retain the best and brightest. Causes for the lack of workers are varied. For years, demographers warned us about the coming war for talent tied to the mass retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. According to the labor market data company Emsi, in 2020 alone, approximately three million Baby Boomers left the workforce, many of them in highly-skilled and seniorlevel positions. COVID-19 has also drastically altered the employment landscape. The United States is experiencing a tidal wave of early retirements and a sizable number of people simply leaving the workforce. Finally, rural states like Nebraska have long struggled with the issue of “brain drain.” Experts at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research estimate the state annually loses 2,000 people between the ages of 25 and 35 who pursue career opportunities outside of the state. To help address these challenges, the NBA is doubling down on its efforts to attend career fairs at colleges and universities, foster meetings with student groups, and create meaningful internships. We are also reevaluating our scholarship and philanthropic efforts. A recent review of the NBA’s agricultural banking internship program, for instance, found that around 35% of the more than 150 students who have participated in the program since its inception are still working in Nebraska banks. Almost 40% of the students who have participated in the program over the past three years work at Nebraska banks. Finally, two of the students who participated in the program this past summer have already accepted job offers for June 2022. Our banks have done such a good job training these students that even our competitors at Farm Credit are actively try to recruit these young finance/ banking leaders. (Watch the NBA E-Update or reach out to Kara Heideman on our NBA team to find opportunities for your bank to engage with students and internship opportunities.) While a sizable number of Nebraskans have traded in their full-time jobs for retirement or to pursue less structured opportunities, I would suggest that these individuals should be a primary recruitment target, assuming your institution is willing to be flexible. Not everyone is built for retirement; my dad retired three times. He liked to work so much that he actually worked part-time up until three weeks before
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw