An abundant talent pool is often cited as Atlanta’s greatest advantage in the technology industry. But recruiting and retaining that talent could be the city’s biggest pain point as it emerges as an innovation hub, local technology leaders say.
The city’s strong university system, anchored by top research institution Georgia Tech, is the backbone of the local talent pool.
The diversity of talent is also an advantage, according to corporations that have announced new offices in the city. Georgia Tech awards the most engineering undergraduate degrees to minorities, according to Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The Atlanta University Center, the nation’s largest consortium of historically Black universities and colleges, is enjoying an influx of capital and increasing its technology and entrepreneurship offerings.
That talent has fueled a boom in Atlanta’s tech scene. Georgia startups landed more venture capital in the first half of 2021 than all of last year. Four startups have matured to $1 billion valuations in 2021 alone, and companies around the world are opening technology hubs in Atlanta.
Cultivating and recruiting that talent to meet the growing demand of Atlanta’s innovation ecosystem is key to further success, tech leaders say.
Keeping up with demand
Demand for information technology jobs increased by 4.1% during the past year. That rise was the highest of any of the top five employment industries in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s 10-county area, according to ARC and Atlanta CareerRise data. During that same period, overall job demand dropped by 8%.
Reskilling or upskilling more people and supporting people of color and women in tech, who are underrepresented in the industry, could be a solution to keeping up with demand.
“We haven’t figured out yet how to ensure everyone shares in success,” said Burunda Prince, the chief operating officer at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship. “I’m specifically speaking of Black communities that have faced detrimental structural and societal roadblocks.”
West Coast giants Microsoft Corp. and Airbnb Inc. are planning large, local offices, both citing the diverse talent pool as a reason for the move. But Atlanta’s income gap remains one of the worst in the nation, and research shows that cities with more high-tech innovation see increased economic segregation.
Training more people in technological skills through alternative education opportunities could increase local talent to keep up with demand and alleviate some inequality issues, Opportunity Hub CEO Rodney Sampson said.
Those efforts are already happening. Microsoft piloted its Accelerate tech training program in Atlanta, focusing on upskilling Westside residents for its upcoming 90-acre campus in Grove Park. Other tech companies are shifting to skills-based hiring initiatives to increase their application pools. Local nonprofits such as TechBridge and City of Refuge are also hosting upskilling programs.
Competing with corporations
More corporations setting up offices in Atlanta bring more enterprise customers to startups and more jobs to the market.
But those companies could also siphon talent from the innovation ecosystem, said technology attorneys Doug Spear, at Nelson Mullins, and John Yates, at Morris, Manning & Martin.
In addition to Microsoft and Airbnb’s offices, financial services behemoth Deluxe Corp. (NYSE: DLX) just opened a financial technology innovation center in Sandy Springs, promising more than 700 local jobs. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is planning a massive expansion in Midtown.
The competition for tech workers sets startups and smaller businesses at a disadvantage, said Sean O’Brien, managing partner at early-stage venture capital firm Overline. Those smaller companies may not be able to keep up with offers from sprawling corporations, causing wage inflation.
“We have historically enjoyed a lower cost to build businesses here in Atlanta than in the coastal communities,” O’Brien said. “If you look closely, you can see early signs of this beginning to change.”
Those lower costs are another reason tech executives say Atlanta is a prime location to grow a business. But metro Atlanta home prices have risen at one of the fastest rates in three decades, which could indicate a larger trend toward an increased cost of living — and building a business — in the city.
In the long term, Christian Devlin, tech and media practice leader for CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE) in Atlanta, sees the competitive talent war as a good thing.
“The rapid growth we are seeing will likely result in a significantly larger, more diverse and even more highly skilled workforce than we already have,” Devlin said.
