Program aims to keep young talent in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- Economists are sounding a warning in Colorado Springs. They're concerned that the city's best and brightest are leaving for other locations at an alarming rate.

More and more young professionals have been choosing careers that take them out of our region.

There's now a program in its second year that aims to keep young talent in our area. It's called the "Hello Colorado Springs" program. The goal of the program is to attract and keep young talent in the city.

This year, 40 interns from across the country and the world will be part of the program. Some participants come from Canada and even as far away as Iran.

According to recent data, people between 18 and 34 years are the most likely to move to a new location for a job. This is why this program is targeted to this specific group.

"So a lot of our programming and our messaging is targeted at individuals in that age group in that demographic. We want them to visit the region and fall in love, and ultimately either launch their career or continue their career in the region," said Dani Bolling, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Sales. "Want to them to immerse themselves into both professional and social activities so that they fall in love with the Pikes Peak region in Colorado Springs."

Davis Young is from Maine. He's a student at Purdue and is majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Although he's only been in Colorado Springs for a few days, he can see himself living here.

 "I never thought of this as a place to live and work. I've got a lot of family out east, so that's obviously a strong pull there. But I will say I'm a lot closer to doing that than I was before," said Young.

The first cohort in the program took a survey where 100% of the interns said they would like to continue their careers in Colorado Springs. Organizers hope that's the same outcome again.

"At the end of the 2024 program, we hope that all of our young professionals decide to continue their career here in Colorado Springs," said Bolling.

This program is only a summer program and runs through August 23.