MadeInAustin Launches to Keep Top Tech Talent in Austin, a Fair to Connect the Fastest Growing Tech Companies and Tech Students/Recent Grads

Austin, TX, November 16, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Last week Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Bob Metcalfe, and other leaders of the Austin tech community announced www.MadeInAustin.org at a press conference at City Hall. The program, which will connect tech students/recent grads from area schools with the fast growing local tech startups and companies, is designed to keep the talent most needed in Austin and to grow the tech industry.

“In the past few months, we have heard stories of Tech CEOs stealing local talent from each other or doubling their relocation efforts. We believe a better solution is to engage the recent graduates and current students in the local tech community, so less leave Austin for jobs when they graduate,” says Jay Whitchurch, CEO of campus2careers, an Austin-based company coordinating the program. An estimated 80% of area Engineers, CS, and other key students needed to grow the tech industry leave Austin when they graduate. “If we are successful with this program, we think we can drastically change those numbers and build a more sustainable talent pool for the city of Austin.”

This problem is not new for Austin or any other major tech community in the country, but the solution is. Austin is the first city in the country hosting such a program, which community officials believe to be both a short and long-term solution to the problem. In advance of the press conference, Mayor Leffingwell shared that “through this program, local startups and fast growing tech companies will get immediate access to well-educated, energetic recent grads ready to start today and interns that can be the pipeline for future talent. If we can keep another 100 tech students in Austin when they graduate, we can expect to see a boon to the existing tech community as well as the creation of new startups from this new generation of talent.”

Bob Metcalfe has always been involved in the startup space and as the Professor of Innovation for the Cockrell School of Engineering, is now focused on the student side as well. “Since I just got here, I find it hard to understand why a student or startup would ever leave. MadeInAustin.org is an ingenious way to save them all the trouble of looking for a great career or startup.”

In addition to a website (www.madeinaustin.org), which will inventory all the local start-ups and fast growing tech companies looking to recruit tech talent, the program will include two fairs annually. The first MadeInAustin fair will be on November 29th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the AT&T Conference Center. The fair will connect the 100+ fastest growing tech companies with an estimated 300-400 Engineering, CS, MIS, and MBA students and recent grads from UT, A&M, Texas State, Baylor, Rice, St. Edwards, and other area schools for full-time positions and Spring and Summer Internships. To learn more about the program and register for the fair, go to www.madeinaustin.org. The cost to attend the fair is $50 for two tickets, additional services may be purchased. The first 100 companies and 200 candidates will receive a $25 American Express gift card, compliments of FedEx + Me, to be used on Nov 26th at any local retailer for small business Saturday!

In addition to campus2careers, Austin Startup Week, Capital Factory and a dozen other tech or startup organizations in Austin are helping to coordinate this program. MadeInAustin is sponsored, in part, by American Express, Constant Contact, Dell, Twilio, Buildasign and Rackspace who will be offering exclusive services to the tech startups participating in the program and attending the upcoming fair.

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campus2careers is the host of MadeInAustin.org and InternInAustin.org and runs the site campus2careers.com, the first job board on the net to match area college students and recent grads with local jobs and internships at start-ups, nonprofits, and small to mid-sized businesses across TX.