June 2018

COMMUNITY
Combating the brain drain
by Katrina Munchez
Our community is socially, politically,
and economically cutting off its own
foot when it comes to integrating and
advancing our local job markets. The
brain drain, the plight of the 21st century
for suburbs and small towns all over
this country, is the migration of young
adults who leave their homes in search
of opportunity, whether it be for higher
education or financial gain, and never
come back. Left without the resurgence
of youth, divergent thinking, civic
engagement, and innovative business,
these hometowns are in the shadows
of a withering past that is accelerating
towards them with the steadfast
advancement of technology.
Nevertheless, more than half of our
community members are college
graduates, or with some level of higher
education. One might presume the local
job market to reflect the diversity of
varying majors and backgrounds. That is
not the case. What we provide instead is
a rigid binary ultimatum that is crippling
the growth of our community. In Coral
Springs, 67 percent of the job market
relies on white collar work, predominantly
in sales and administrative occupations.
Blue collar, or manual/industrial, labor
accounts for 32 percent of our workforce.
Interestingly enough, there is a missing
one percent in this data. This is the
wiggle room we provide our citizens, post
grad, wanting to explore who they are
as professionals, and who don’t want to
waste their degrees and creativity stuck
behind a desk or laying foundation.
Our city should be paying closer attention
to this one percent of eager business
minds because without diversity,
adaptation, and innovation there is no
growth. Increases in housing gaps and
pay wages, political stagnation, and
overall social instability are some of the
brain drain’s negative effects we feel
within our community. By providing
resources as incentives to those who
are civically engaged, socially conscious,
and business minded, our community
will begin to see an influx of a positive
brain gain. Well developed community
and professional mentorship programs,
as well as think spaces, where young
professionals can collaborate on projects
and potential business models, are
sure to attract a positive in migration of
talented entrepreneurs looking to make a
difference.
In order to make these broader
connections to capital and resource,
we need our governments, corporate
sponsors, and philanthropic activists to
realize, and understand, the potential we
are wasting if we continue to force people
into traditional job markets. Community
leaders should aim to engineer healthier,
more diverse and inclusive environments,
making room for our brightest minds
to uplift our current status. Building
a divergent economic structure that
provides equal job opportunity, and
network resources is sure to propel
Coral Springs out of the shift working
dark ages. Are we doing all that we can
to expand the potential of our youth for
the longevity of our future, or have we
become complacent and already given
up? Contact your local officials, or find
me at the next Town Hall to discuss ways
in which you believe we can help our
community. Together we are making
a difference. P
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JUNE 2018