Nearly one in four workers (23 percent) in the Pittsburgh region is employed by the technology industry comprising about 29 percent of the city’s total wages at $16.9 billion, according to the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC).
To help "win today's talent war" the PTC is introducing several initiatives to assist tech firms in attracting new workers including launching the redesigned online Career Connector. The site claims it's the “largest Pittsburgh region technology-specific job board” with more than 10,000 searchable resumes already available.
Audrey Russo, president and CEO of the PTC, said the site will make it easier for companies to contact applicants.
“For the first time in about six years,” she said, “we’ve really just looked at how to upgrade this so that the functionality is better, that we can upload resumes in an easier fashion, as well as do some of the analytics that people who are trying to hire can have easier access to.”
More than 25,000 job seekers use the site each month, according to the PTC.
The council is also introducing a new series on April 24 called “Winning the Talent War,” which will highlight the strategies used by companies to find the most qualified and sought after employees.
“If there really is this next wave of growth in this sector,” Russo said, “it’s important for us as a region and as a city to understand what are all those factors that ensure that people really want to work here, really want to live here, really want to play here.”
The PTC plans to send human resources executives from various Pittsburgh firms to Silicon Valley for a “mission” trip to learn about recruiting techniques.
Russo said the trip is a networking experience.
“We’re creating these relationships with these investors so that they understand Pittsburgh is not a fly-over zone,” she said. “Pittsburgh is an easy place, particularly on the east coast, for them to get to and that there’s lots of deal flow here.”
