Get ready to attract top-tier talent with strategies tailored for today’s competitive market. This session explores how AI is transforming recruitment and offers practical tactics for hiring managers to enhance engagement, responsiveness, and effectiveness, even with leaner teams. Learn innovative ways to showcase your team’s strengths and position your organization as the top choice for candidates. Don’t miss this chance to elevate your hiring approach and secure the best talent.

This session will explore the growing number of professional apprenticeships through the lens of several companies in the Twin Cities. Expect both an overview of how an apprenticeship program can work in the technology space as well as a “real-talk” panel discussion covering a wide range of topics related to the benefits (and how to overcome the challenges) of an apprenticeship program.

This session builds on last year’s presentation, “Understanding the Youth Perspective within our Talent Pipeline,” and offers an in-depth update on the progress made. Presenters will showcase how young adults co-designed two transformational initiatives and are actively involved in piloting them. The session will begin with an overview of research and prioritization efforts, followed by detailed presentations on the two concepts—Co-Lab and DYF. Attendees will also receive a recap of the Co-Lab pilot, along with insights on the next steps and opportunities for engagement.

Participants will have the chance to brainstorm in a breakout session, focusing on how employers can engage with these concepts and scale them across Minnesota. By the end of the session, attendees will have a deeper understanding of how to enhance youth engagement, particularly among Black youth, how to collaborate with community-based organizations to better serve young adults, and how businesses can leverage insights from the pilot to contribute to future scaling efforts. 

Joe Fuller will lead a small group discussion with an invited group of HR and tech executive leaders where he will provide additional insights and perspectives on the work being done at the Managing the Future of Work initiative at Harvard Business School, address questions about his keynote presentation, and other topics of interest.

Featuring an exciting panel discussion, this session will bring together leading STEM leaders to showcase their initiatives to support and inspire the upcoming generation of tech talent. Panelists will not only share their successes but also offer valuable strategies for engagement, while shedding light on a myriad of opportunities for active participation.

This session will explore how organizations can strategically partner with talent providers to streamline their hiring processes. Featuring experts from companies that specialize in recruiting, training, and placing talent on a contract-to-hire basis, this session will provide insights into reducing the risks associated with traditional hiring. Attendees will learn how these partnerships can accelerate time-to-independence for new hires, ensuring that they quickly become productive contributors while allowing businesses to assess fit before making long-term commitments.

Hosted by Prime Digital Academy & Summit Academy OIC, you will learn about the amazing talent coming out of their organizations and how you can proactively work to build nontraditional talent pipelines within your organization! You will hear the journeys of nontraditional tech talent and explore innovative strategies and best practices for accessing and integrating non-traditional talent into your organization. You’ll gain insights into overcoming challenges and fostering an inclusive workplace culture.

The technology landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by two converging forces: the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the rise of generative AI (GenAI) tools for coding. These changes are not just incremental; they are fundamentally reshaping how we approach science, engineering, and software development, with far-reaching implications for both industry and academia. In this workshop, our speakers will engage in a facilitated discussion around these two transformative trends: the explosion of AI and the evolution of the tech workforce through GenAI tools.

Join us to support computer science education in Minnesota. We’ll share the latest progress and challenges, and equip you with tools to tell your story, helping to build a network of CS champions in our state. Together, we can drive the change needed to ensure every student is ready to excel in a technology-driven future.

This session explores the critical role of implementing an equitable interview framework in ensuring uniform excellence in hiring practices. By establishing organizational standards, enhancing the candidate experience, and mitigating unconscious bias, this framework leads to higher-quality and more consistent hiring outcomes. Participants will learn how to apply consistent criteria to improve the quality of hires, establish consistency across the organization, and make data-driven decisions. The session also covers the scalability of such frameworks, ensuring they can grow with the organization while maintaining quality. The discussion will conclude with actionable steps, including establishing a timeline for campus recruiting to enhance transparency for candidates.

Join us for a presentation tailored to tech talent professionals, tech professionals, and leaders focused on driving GenAI learning initiatives. This session will provide strategies to effectively engage stakeholders, pilot GenAI learning programs such as GitHub Copilot, and develop Learning Paths that empower your teams to use and build with GenAI. Gain actionable insights into creating the supportive learning ecosystem needed to drive GenAI adoption and an overall culture of continuous innovation and experimentation within your organization.

Tawanna Black of the Center for Economic Inclusion and Living Truth Enterprises, Inc. will host a discussion with James Pierce of Minnesota Diversified Industries about the ways companies are maximizing purpose and profit by deepening diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. As sentiment and investments in DEI shift, organizations are re-evaluating their approaches to fostering inclusive cultures and equitable practices. Tawanna and James will discuss current trends, challenges, and opportunities in DEI efforts, including how businesses can adapt to changing expectations from employees, customers, and stakeholders. Attendees will gain practical insights on how to sustain meaningful DEI initiatives in today’s dynamic corporate environment.