Lake Orion students hear from county, business leaders on the jobs of the future in Oakland County

By Jim Newell
Review Editor
For many students – for many people – the journey to turn their aspirations into reality can be a hidden trail shrouded with overgrowth that obscures their career path.
Oakland County officials hope to clear away any obstacles and bring that path into focus for area students, inspiring them to seek the careers of the future and stay in Oakland County after graduation.
County officials and community and business held the inaugural Oakland NEXT: A Future You Didn’t Know Existed career event at Lake Orion High School March 15 with that goal in mind.
County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and eight business leaders – ranging from CEO’s to a university vice-president – spoke to the students and general public about the job market in Oakland County and how they need not leave the area to find a challenging and lucrative profession.
“We’re going to give you passion, we’re going to give you purpose and have you ask yourself, ‘Am I Oakland’s next…” said Matt Gibb, deputy county executive, emcee of the event.
Orion students who attended the career event wanted to learn about their options and see if the county fit into their future hopes.
“I came because it’s a great opportunity to learn about jobs and opportunities in Oakland County,” said Lake Orion High School Freshman Katelyn Darbyshire. “I love Oakland County and plan on staying.”
Darbyshire, who is interested in psychology, said she hoped to get a better idea at the Oakland NEXT program if it would provide “One step forward to see if that’s truly what I want to be.”
“I’m here because I really want to know what jobs and options I have to go into,” said LOHS Freshman Abby Grantham.
In 2009 alone, Oakland County lost 6,100 jobs. With a focus on retaining young professionals, Patterson said the county now wants to help young people see Oakland’s advantages: “We want to help you find your place in it.”
And the career options have changed since Patterson first took office nearly 25 years ago.
There are more than 4,700 life science/healthcare companies in Oakland County now, which has become a bastien of medical research as well. “That is now my largest employment sector. It used to be automotive,” Patterson said.
He added there are more than 2,000 information technology companies in the county involved in I.T. and research and that careers in computer coding and related fields are the wave of the future.
Oakland County also has become a mecca for medical research, Gibb said.
Oakland NEXT evolved from Patterson’s Roundtable group, compromised of community and business leaders divided into four different groups to enhance life in the county.
In 1992, when he was first elected as county executive, L. Brooks Patterson said he made a promise to improve the quality of life in Oakland County, a place with “good mid-western values and a good educational system.”
He asked business leaders, “What can I do to make this a better place to live and work? And they were surprised because they had never been asked that before,” he said.
Part of Patterson’s initiative included creating four committees, a roundtable of professionals who could help inform, develop and promote specific areas in the county.
Oakland NEXT is the fifth committee of the roundtable, for the younger people in the county who are trying to decide where to go to college and trade schools, Patterson said.
Other statistics presented at the event included:
• There are 43,000 job openings in Oakland County: 2,175 in software development, 1,360 for registered nurses, 918 for mechanical engineers and 1,354 for skilled trades and technicians.
• Oakland County has almost 1,100 multinational companies from 40 different countries, more than 2.5 times anywhere else in America.
• Oakland County has a knowledge-based economy with high-tech careers and is the ninth richest county in the U.S.
• There are more engineers in Oakland County than in Silicon Valley.
Hajj Flemings, CEO and founder of Brand Camp University, urged the students to find something they love to do and buck expectations in achieving their goals.
“From the time you’re born to the time you die, society tries to fit you into a box. What school traditionally teaches is for students to be employees,” he said. “How do you create the future you want to have? The challenge is, How do you do something that you love to do?”
“You need to be on a journey of discovery, whatever is your heart to do. If you could do anything on the planet, what would you do to get there?” Flemings asked the students.
“The person you’re competing against is not the person sitting next to you. The person you’re competing against is in another country and they’ve been working all their lives to eat your lunch,” Flemings said.
Gibb left the students with three questions to ask themselves: What are you good at? What do others say you’re good at? What’s holding you back?
Other speakers included:
• Jane Harper: Director of Privacy and Security Risk Management at the Henry Ford Health System.
• Elaina Farnsworth: CEO of Mobile Comply.
• Megan Mahoney: Global Key Account Manager of BASF.
• Talisa Norton; Co-owner and COO of All Pro Color.
• Nicholas Kristock: Founder of Fleece and Thank You.
• Marc Verhoeven: a student at Lake Orion High School with a design internship at GM working with a design mentor.
• Glenn McIntosh: Vice President of Student Affairs at Oakland University.
• Jennifer Llewellyn: Manager of Oakland County Workforce Development.
On the web: www.oaklandnext.com.