A survey conducted by the UNH Survey Center for Stay Work Play NH shows improvement in how college graduates view opportunity in NH, but that gain is dwarfed by a widening talent gap.
There are almost 2,000 unfilled tech jobs in southern NH, says Matt Cookson, president of Cookson Strategies Corp. in Manchester, executive director of the NH High Tech Council and a board member of Stay Work Play NH.
It’s that kind of data that spurs Stay Work Play NH, which works to retain more high school and college grads in NH. Stay Work Play was established after a 2007 study, conducted by the UNH Survey Center on behalf of the University
System of NH’s 55% Initiative, which found students and alumni did not perceive that there were good job opportunities in NH.
In 2013, the survey was repeated with 1,000 seniors and 1,300 alumni. The results, about to be released, show more new or recent graduates choosing to stay in NH:
• The percentage of alumni who reported they are still living in NH increased by almost 16%.
• More people are going straight into the workforce instead of graduate school. The survey found 37% had a job before graduation and another 42% found jobs within a year.
• The number of seniors who left right after graduation fell from 46% in 2007 to 34% in 2013. Those still living in NH increased from 30% to 46% and were evenly split between those attending private and public colleges in NH.
• Among graduates who left NH immediately, the percentage who perceived there were no career opportunities in the state dropped from 71% to 49%.
• The percentage of alumni who see many job opportunities in NH increased from 39% to 58%.
For more information, visit stayworkplay.org.
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