Pittsburgh Technology Council Launches New Services and Partnerships to Help Local Companies Attract and Retain World Class Talent

PITTSBURGH, April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid an increasingly competitive environment for world-class talent, and against the backdrop of the Affordable Care Act, the Pittsburgh Technology Council announced today several new and expanded initiatives targeted toward Pittsburgh's technology and manufacturing communities.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council, which has served advanced manufacturing, information technology and life sciences-related firms for more than 30 years, unveiled a new partnership with JRG Advisors and Seubert & Associates to assist its 1,400 member companies analyze the many risk factors impacting their business.  The new partnership will help members procure insurance products and services that meet new strategies and demands in insurance.  Through the Corporate Coverage Group, members will have access to health insurance and employee benefits such as life and disability; workers' compensation and all lines of property and casualty protection.

"Through our new partnerships with both JRG Advisors and Seubert," said Audrey Russo, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, "the Council is positioning itself to be a strong partner for our members as they consider new strategies. Hand in hand with our members, we now have a strong ability to help employers evaluate private healthcare exchanges; to consider the newly attractive, yet complex, process of self-insurance; and to support employers, employees and their family members as they work to navigate the newly created federal health care exchange."

To help its members locate skilled talent, the Council also announced a soon-to-be released and completely redesigned online Career Connector (www.pghcareerconnector.com). The largest Pittsburgh region technology-specific job board, the Career Connector attracts more than 25,000 unique job seekers each month and contains more than 10,000 searchable resumes.

"As companies struggle to win today's talent war, they're looking for opportunities to differentiate themselves," said Justin Driscoll, Director of Talent Attraction for the Pittsburgh Technology Council. "Through our new Career Connector, we have the ability to help employers brand their organizations as the employer of choice for top talent."

Today, manufacturers, life sciences and financial services-related firms find themselves competing with software and other technology employers for talent. To support the growth of those firms, the Council is launching several initiatives designed to help firms understand the importance and impact of a strong internal culture.

On April 24^th, the Council will launch a new series, "Winning the Talent War," which will showcase some of the unique strategies that employers are leveraging to attract and retain, some of the world's most talented employees.

Finally, the Council announced a benchmarking mission to the Silicon Valley, scheduled for this Fall, that will help human resources executives and recruiters to understand some of the leading-edge workplace strategies that Silicon Valley Employers have developed to become competitive.

"There is no place in the world that is more competitive than the Silicon Valley for skilled talent," said Driscoll.  "Our hope is that we can help our employer learn and adopt new strategies, thereby enabling them to grow and thrive in the Pittsburgh region for years to come."

SOURCE JRG Advisors; Pittsburgh Technology Council