By Andrew Webb
Journal Staff Writer
A new initiative funded by French Mortuary and the U.S. Department of Labor aims to centralize employment opportunities and publicize them to current and former students of the region's colleges and universities.
The goal is to battle the brain drain of local graduates being forced to leave New Mexico to find good jobs.
A Web site will be managed by nonprofit Albuquerque Economic Development, in partnership with the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College.
Bob Walton, Albuquerque Economic Development's vice president for business development, said the first phase, expected to be online this summer, will allow employers to post their jobs, and students or alumni to post resumes.
The Higher Education Hiring Network will use job placement and alumni organizations at the two colleges to reach out to students, he said.
To limit access to the site, users will be required to have a PIN or some other code.
The Higher Education Hiring Network got off the ground with a $50,000 gift from French Mortuary.
French Mortuary President and CEO D.F. "Duffy" Swan said the impetus for the project came as directors of the family-run mortuary discussed plans to celebrate its 100th year in business.
On top of their typical $100,000 or so in annual donations, they decided to give an additional $100,000 in charitable gifts to projects in education, health care, the arts and economic development.
After talking to officials from nonprofit business recruitment and assistance firm Albuquerque Economic Development, as well as to local education officials, the business decided to use the remaining $50,000 toward reducing the state's oft-noted brain drain.
Swan said he and other backers took the idea to local administrators of the federally funded Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development. That job-creation initiative kicked in another $400,000 to the project.
The state's labor department will administer the $450,000 in total funding.
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