Pub. 13 2018-2019 Issue 2

NEBRASKA BANKERS ASSOCIATION 7 President’s Message — continued on page 11 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE PLACING BANKING GRADUATES Richard J. Baier, President & CEO, Nebraska Bankers Association N EBRASKA IS EXTREMELY BLESSED to have a remarkably strong, statewide, higher education sys- tem, including the University of Nebraska campuses. These institutions train and supply the graduates who are the current and future talent for Nebraska employers. I continue to have conversations with member banks about their challenges in hiring and retaining top employees. It has also become increasingly clear that the banking industry needs to better under- stand the workforce environment and em- brace new aggressive strategies to showcase the numerous benefits of careers in banking. The University of Nebraska College of Business (COB) Bachelor’s Degree Post Graduation Outcomes report recently made its way into my inbox. According to the 2016-17 report, the UNL-COB, graduated 767 students in the areas of accounting, actuarial science, agribusiness, business administration, economics, finance, inter- national business, management, market- ing and supply chain management. Upon graduation, 652 or 85% of these students accepted employment opportunities or pursued additional education. Conversely, 15% or approximately 115 graduates were identified as unemployed or were still seek- ing employment. Of those students who participated in this research, 64% reported finding employment inNebraska following graduation. Following is a brief snapshot of the starting salaries which were reported by the students: LOCATION MEAN SALARY MEDIAN SALARY MINIMUM SALARY MAXIMUM SALARY MIDWEST $43,154 $40,650 $20,000 $85,000 NEBRASKA $42,002 $40,000 $20,000 $85,000 LINCOLN $38,013 $35,000 $20,000 $85,000 GREATER OMAHA $47,355 $47,750 $25,000 $75,000 OTHER NEBRASKA $35,808 $35,000 $20,000 $53,000 This information gave me some pause, as I started to think about the economic impact on our students, our banks and our state. First, why are more than 100 students still looking for full-time work following graduation? With more than 300 banking jobs open across the state on any given day, how do we best connect with these students long before they graduate to facilitate placement? How are we promoting our industry and what can we improve upon to better banking career opportuni- ties? This past spring, the NBA released a short video featuring some of our young bankers talking about the industry and their experiences. We would encourage you to utilize this video as a tool in ongoing recruitment efforts. To view, visit: http://bit.ly/ BankCareersNE . Second, there are clear variations in salary across our Ne- braska landscape. I would encourage you to review your salary and benefits structure to ensure you are competitive in the mar- ketplace. I don’t think that means every business has to provide a maximum wage up-front. To better gauge the interests and demands of the next generation, I would encourage you to talk