Text by Michael Dumas

As the economic development arm for the city and county, the Mobile Chamber is constantly evolving its efforts to bring fresh industry and company investment to south Alabama. To achieve what Chamber President and CEO Bradley Byrne calls Mobile’s “Golden Age,” home-grown, qualified workers must be enticed to stay local, and new talent from around the country must move here. That is why the organization has revitalized how it attracts and retains talent in the Mobile area.

Helping guide the Chamber’s efforts was an in-depth labor market study by Development Counselors International (DCI), commissioned in 2020. The study identified three key considerations for talent development, including giving prospective employees an opportunity to visit local companies to experience their work environments first-hand; developing a comprehensive online resource illustrating what it’s like to live and work in the area; and networking efforts promoting the connection of prospects and professionals already living and working locally.

The sad reality for years has been that Mobile’s greatest export is the city’s young talent. For decades some of its best and brightest had to leave the area to flourish professionally, but that reality is as outdated as Mobile’s past label as the city of “perpetual potential,” thanks to efforts such as the Chamber’s Young Professionals of Mobile group, its More to Mobile website and this year’s inaugural Showcase Mobile conference for college students across the Southeast.

 

More to Mobile

“DCI found we didn’t have a digital attraction hub for talent to see what it’s like to live and work here, so we created More to Mobile in November 2022,” saidAbbey Huguley, talent development and attraction manager for the Mobile Chamber. That hub, MoretoMobileAL.com, is a one-stop resource of relevant information broken into four pillars: More to Live, More to Work, More to Grow and More to Explore.

There, recruits can find a house, a job, learn about local schools and attractions, and even find support to start a business of their own.

“This is a tremendous tool for our HR managers, who are trying to attract future employees,” Huguley said.

One of her favorite parts of the website, under the More to Live section, illustrates where popular neighborhoods are in relation to area companies, so prospects can not only find the cost of living in certain places but the commute time as well.

“If someone’s interested in living in Midtown, for example, they can go to this website to look at houses in that specific area,” she said. Since it went live in late 2023, the site already has received more than 400,000 impressions.

 

Showcase Mobile

Relocation to a new area and career can be stressful enough, and even with a tremendous resource like More to Mobile, sometimes there’s no substitute for in-person experience. The DCI study said as much, which led to Huguley and her colleagues inviting a series of students to the area to visit specific companies and talk to their employees about what it’s like to be a member of this community. From global scholar students enrolled at Troy University and Auburn economists studying supply chains to University of Alabama business students and rising engineers from Mississippi State, the tours were successful, according to Huguley. Her goal was for the Mobile Chamber to host a “huge career exploration event,” which came to fruition in February of this year under the title Showcase Mobile.

“Building relationships with the schools at one time was good, but what if we had a big event where we ask all of these partners to send students to spend the night in a downtown hotel so they can experience the culture and see what it would be like to actually work here,” she said.

More than 120 juniors and seniors from 13 different colleges flocked to the city for the two-day event, which not only featured cultural hotspots around the area, but also visited of a number of local companies.

Nicole Larriviere, an assistant professor and internship coordinator at Mobile’s Spring Hill College lauded Showcase Mobile as a “transformative experience for college students.”

“It offered invaluable insights into Mobile’s diverse industries while fostering meaningful connections with industry professionals, further igniting their passion for future career opportunities in the region,” Larriviere said.

Alabama State University student Guy Divin Samandari, who transferred to the Montgomery college on a full-ride presidential scholarship after completing two years at Bishop State Community College in Mobile, attended Showcase Mobile in February. He called the program “truly eye opening.”

A native of the east African country of Bujumbura, Burundi, Samandari is studying accounting and finance, and during Showcase Mobile visited several of the companies featured at the Brookley Aeroplex, including ST Engineering, Airbus and Continental.

“Exploring the cutting-edge technologies and commitment to excellence at each company left me inspired,” he said. “The experience reinforced the importance of continual learning and staying abreast of industry advancements.

“The Showcase event in Mobile provided invaluable insights into the complexities of aircraft engineering and production, (and) emphasized the critical role of teamwork, precision and employee well-being in achieving success in this dynamic field.”

 

YP of MOB

Evolving from talent attraction to long-term retention has flourished since the creation of the Young Professionals of Mobile (YP of MOB) group, which had an impressive 145 people attend its first networking reception more than two years ago at the Steeple in downtown Mobile.

“That turnout showed that the young people are here and eager and hungry to get involved,” Huguley said. Since February 2022, the YP of MOB database has grown to more than 1,300 professionals, which supported the Chamber’s efforts to launch a membership program for 2024. More than 150 members have already signed up, at a cost of only $75 per year.

While YP of MOB certainly offers access to insightful peers and fellowship, it’s also the access point for excitement and adventure, as transplanted employees gain deeper understanding and appreciation of the community and those wanting to connect within it.

Huntsville native and U.S. Air Force Reservist Bree Williams said she “didn’t know a single soul” when she moved to Mobile in 2022. But she’d been a previous member of a young professionals group and was delighted to see that her new town also had one.

“Being a member of YP of MOB has not only put me in contact with some amazing people, who I believe will be lifelong friends, but it has also allowed me to explore Mobile and visit places I never knew existed,” Williams said. “I am looking forward to more socials and networking, (and) I am forever thankful for YP of MOB, as it made my move to Mobile so much easier.”

Originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of Mobile Bay Magazine