As president of the Atlanta-based think tank American Institute for Managing Diversity, Melanie Harrington spent nine years thinking about how to best engage leadership and community around the issue of diversity.
Now she's putting those theories to work. Harrington was recruited nationally last December to lead a bold, new initiative in the region,
Vibrant Pittsburgh, which hopes to strengthen the region's economic future through a renaissance of people working to attract, retain and elevate a diverse workforce. Harrington jumped at the opportunity.
Vibrant Pittsburgh, created by a coalition of business, nonprofit and foundation leaders, will focus on five key industry sectors--advanced manufacturing, energy, financial and business services, healthcare and life sciences and information and communications technology.
"What an excellent execution of diversity," says Harrington of the organization. "I think leadership comes about when people of a like mind come together around bold initiatives. That's how change really happens. We've all signed up to be a part of this vision."
Nationally, an increasing number of the people entering the workforce are minorities, yet in Pittsburgh this figure is 11%, among the lowest of the top 40 U.S. regions. "Diversity and inclusion have become absolutely central to the regional growth," said Sunil Wadhwani, Vibrant Pittsburgh Co-Chair, during the organization's launch at the August Wilson Center. "Regions that get this concept right are growing."
The biggest challenge will be growing and developing a pipeline for the 20,000 jobs that exist in areas of science and technology, math and engineering. "We have a supply of workers looking for jobs, but they don't have the skill sets that are needed," says Harrington. "The supply and demand structure is out of alignment."
"It's exciting to be here at a time when Pittsburgh is positioning itself to become a real world player," she adds. "There are job opportunities here. There is a growing energy and finance sector, as well as other industries. It is critical that we bring these skill sets together for a 21st century workforce."
Writer:
Deb SmitSource: Melanie Harrington, Vibrant Pittsburgh