Norfolk Area Leading the Way to Meet IT Workforce Demand
- Growing Together
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
Norfolk Area economic developers and leaders in education are spearheading efforts to meet the IT workforce demand through initiatives like Northeast Nebraska Growing Together. Developed by the Aksarben Foundation and local community leaders, Growing Together meets the local workforce needs by reducing the out-migration of young people from the region. The initiative uses a multifaceted approach to increase the number of four-year college graduates in the area and improve earnings to match the state’s average wage. These efforts have resulted in a steady pipeline of educated workers looking for jobs in the region, specifically in the IT industry.
“We just graduated our second cohort from a partnership with Wayne State College in May,” said Angie Stenger, Executive Director, Northeast Nebraska Growing Together. “Many of these graduates took full-time jobs in the Norfolk Area afterwards, so we’re focused on growing and keeping the population here. There's nothing like this in the country for the IT workforce.”
Northeast Nebraska Growing Together
Northeast Nebraska Growing Together addresses the issue of out-migration and associated threats like slow business development, a lack of innovation, and a stagnant workforce by partnering with Wayne State College and Northeast Community College to implement programs like co-op scholarships and opportunities for students to build working relationships with community leaders through internships.
Cooperative Scholarships
Wayne State College cooperative scholarships are offered to students in degree programs like computer science/IT, industrial technology, and communications, among others. The students are connected to business partners throughout their first three years on campus and finish their degree by being immersed in a work-based 18-credit-hour education program. The advantage of the Wayne State College co-op scholarship program lies within the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with local business partners, leading to full-time employment.
The students complete the program’s last year while living in Downtown Norfolk. The most recent co-op scholarship graduating class from Wayne State College resulted in 64 students living in Downtown Norfolk while completing internships at companies across Northeast Nebraska.
The program has been successful in retaining graduates and strengthening the regional workforce. In its first two years, Northeast Nebraska Growing Together:
98% of graduates (63 students) are staying in Nebraska.
25 students are staying in Northeast Nebraska.
31% moved to Lincoln or Omaha
6 students returned to central rural Nebraska.
3 students are pursuing graduate school in Nebraska.
Workforce Development and Retraining
In addition to opportunities for traditional students at Wayne State College, Northeast Nebraska Growing Together offers training for younger age groups, those returning to the workforce, and those hoping to gain more skills. One aspect of the workforce retraining strategy focuses on providing more awareness of career opportunities for K-12 students and opening the doors for more hands-on training. A key improvement to tech workforce development that accomplishes these goals for all age groups is the iHub fabrication lab. The iHub is being developed by Northeast Community College and will provide additional support to IT and tech entrepreneurs, among other industries, while introducing STEM disciplines and robotics curriculum opportunities to young people in the area.
“Students are gravitating towards computer science. Some of them are in networking, others want to be programmers or coders, but the iHub will be an opportunity for these industry sectors to grow, and internships for IT students will be a growing need,” said Stenger. “The iHub will provide a space for the current and future workforce to learn how to use machines and be trained on new equipment and support the manufacturing and IT community here in the area.”
A Foundation of Growth
These initiatives allow tech companies to expand in the Norfolk Area. A steady pipeline of newly educated workers in the tech field will provide a foundation of growth for the industry as a whole. The Northeast Nebraska Growing Together initiative establishes a strong support base as Norfolk leads the way in meeting the growing demand for the IT workforce.
