Opportunity Austin brought 104,200 jobs to the river city, and raises millions to take a victory lap – Go Austin GO.
Austin: Best place for singles. Greenest city. Best place for movie-making, and independent music. Most wireless hotspots. Most creative. Friendly. Welcome to Austin, the human capital.
It wasn’t long ago that Austin didn’t have claim to any of the titles listed above. To other cities, we were nothing more than a small city in a big state. To businesses, we were unfriendly, and unwilling to change our ways. And some may say, they liked it that way. But for the benefit of our own futures, and the futures of our children in this city, we had to change—whether we liked it or not.
Today, even with the current economic downturn, Austin continues to thrive, largely in part to the diligent and unending work of an offshoot of the Chamber of Commerce, called Opportunity Austin. The five year, five county initiative began as a roadmap for recovery. In 2003, optimism was in short supply in Austin, left reeling after the over-reliance on the technology industry, and saw record unemployment, stagnant wages, and a transportation system slipping into crisis. The group’s goal was to create 72,000 new jobs with a $2.9billion aggregate increase in payroll. The group began by changing the “image” of Austin—one from a sleepy hippie town, to one of our true potential—the “human capital.” The group made links to our digital media and game producer groups, our vibrant film industry, our deep talent pool from UT, and our deeply rooted history in technology. Broadcast by a multi-channel, multi-phase campaign to boost Austin’s reputation, the group then sought to target and recruit diverse sectors. Initiatives to target automotive, medical products, regional offices and headquarters, transportation and logistics became wildly successful. Since 2004, Austin has been the appreciative recipient of more than 120 corporate relocations from within Texas, 23 from other states, and nearly a dozen from foreign countries.
To meet their regional goals, the group spent considerable energy on the retention and expansion of current Austin companies, meeting with 202 firms and surveying a portfolio of 145 firms in 2007. Of the 145 firms that were surveyed, 83% have plans to expand over the next three years, involving nearly 5,000 new hires, more than $1 billion in total investments and 2.75 million square feet of facility space. Opportunity Austin also surveyed 39 start-up companies in emerging technology sectors, including clean energy, biotechnology, digital media, automotive, semiconductors and software. Representing 500 jobs and 250,000 square feet of space, all 39 of these firms report plans for expansion in the upcoming year. Working to identify issues that pose challenges to their continued growth, the group saw continued emphasis on two major concerns—talent development and regional transportation issues. To battle transportation the group spearheaded an additional taskforce, called Take on Traffic, whose work helped move the ball forward with the approval by regional leaders in 2007 of a $1.45 billion package of major road improvements including 155 new lane miles. Take on Traffic will continue in 2008 with a focus on intelligent transportation systems. Additionally, the team saw major advances in air transportation, with 10 new non-stop flights added at ABIA. Because of this, surveys of companies this year have found the availability of air connections has moved down the list of key regional concerns.
To battle the concern of workforce and talent development Opportunity Austin created a task force to advise on recruiting senior-level tech company talent, highlighting the region’s professional opportunities and family-friendly environment. Additionally, the Chamber’s efforts to promote local readiness for and participation in higher education bore fruit, with an increase of 1,400 local student enrolling in Central Texas colleges.
So, in short, after a concentrated effort on Opportunity Austin’s part, numerous recruiting trips to major cities both inside, and outside the US, and after major study and careful investment, Opportunity Austin has successfully gotten Austin back in the game. Blowing away their 2004 goal of 72,000 jobs in five years, the group successfully added more than 104,200 jobs to our local economy, and $4.5billion in payroll to the region in the past four years.
And so does this group pack up its dollies and go home? From the mouth of the groups organizer, Gary Farmer, himself “of course not.” Instead, the group is now laying the foundation for Opportunity Austin 2.0, which will continue to brand Austin as “the human capital,” by deepening our talent pool, continue to boost a diverse economy, and keep greater Austin great. They will continue to expand their advocacy for a comprehensive regional transportation system, move forward to foster regional collaboration and support policies and efforts to maintain and improve Austin’s sustainability, environmental integrity and cultural vitality. All we can say is “Go, Austin, GO!” – Lindsay Taylor
