News

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership will welcome more than 70 students pursuing degrees in the insurance industry to Northeast Indiana on Sept. 15-16. This inbound talent attraction visit will showcase job opportunities in the insurance industry and quality of life in the region.

The purpose of this pilot program is to develop a replicable and scalable model for attracting and retaining college students and graduates to Northeast Indiana to support the region’s seven target industries and connect students with the community and employers. Specialty insurance is one of those target industries.

Participating colleges and universities:

• Grace College
• Illinois State University
• Indiana University-Purdue University (IPFW)
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Saint Francis

Participating companies:

• American Specialty
• Ash Brokerage
• Brotherhood Mutual
• Conduent
• INGUARD
• Lincoln Financial
• MedPro
• PHP
• Swiss Re

“From growth in the specialty insurance industry to investment in quality of life, Northeast Indiana is experiencing momentum. The inbound student trip allows us to strategically attract a pipeline of talent to live and work in the region,” said Parker Beauchamp, CEO of INGUARD.

On Friday, Sept. 15 the group will meet with regional employers during the day and attend Middle Waves Music Festival in the evening. Then, on Saturday, Sept. 16, students will hear morning presentations from community and business leaders to learn more about living and working in Northeast Indiana and end their visit by attending the last day of Middle Waves Music Festival.

“In Northeast Indiana, we’re intentional to collaborate, and this inbound trip is a great example of how regional insurance companies are partnering together to bring skilled talent to work and live in our 11 counties,” said Ryan Fox, talent acquisition and career development leader at Ash Brokerage.

Students will connect and mingle with young professionals from the Emerging Leaders Alliance, Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana and the UPSTAR Young Professionals Network while checking out the new Cityscape Flats downtown. Students will also hear from Greater Fort Wayne Inc. about the momentum, progress and development in Fort Wayne and Allen County.

To measure success and identify opportunities for improvement, the Regional Partnership will administer student perception surveys before and after the trip. In the future, Regional Partnership team members will track participating students’ internship and employment patterns to measure long-term effects of the trip.

In August, the Regional Opportunities Council (ROC), the investor board of the Regional Partnership, voted in favor of funding the inbound talent attraction trip and allocated $12,500 to cover a portion of the program’s cost. Participating schools and companies also contributed financially to the trip.

Members of the media are encouraged to contact Kate Virag to arrange a visit during the inbound talent attraction trip.

To learn more, visit the website at www.neindiana.com.

About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to build, market and sell Northeast Indiana to increase business investment. Founded in 2006, the public-private partnership strives to build a globally competitive region. The Partnership’s Vision 2030 framework supports collaborative regional efforts to increase per capita income, population growth and educational attainment by emphasizing business attraction, talent attraction and talent development. The Partnership represents 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com. 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Virag
Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Communications
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.469.3460
kate@NEIndiana.com