The second annual FullConTech conference gathered over 300 tech, education, and government leaders who generated 20 ideas to help grow, attract, and retain talent in our region.

Building on the Previous Year

More than 300 attendees from the technology, education, and government sectors gathered at the Microsoft Conference Center on Monday for the Washington Technology Industry Association’s second FullConTech conference. This year’s conference had a lot to live up to, as last year’s was the catalyst of three successful WTIA projects, but it lived up to its young legacy without a doubt. FullConTech 2016 focused on the heart and soul of our industry: the talented people that comprise it, and how we can grow, attract, and retain them.

There was a diverse crowd in attendance – participants from the education sector increased from 15 to 25 percent, one third of the panelists were people of color, and over half of the panelists were women. However, none of our panels focused specifically on women, because we found that the many approaches to growing, attracting, and retaining talent explored at the conference were universally relevant. “Talent is universal, opportunity is not” is a quote by Nicholas Kristof that I cherish. As an international student, I was inspired and motivated by the conference’s emphasis on expanding opportunities for talented people of all backgrounds. That is how an industry and a community reach their full potential.

FullConTech 2016: the Nuts and Bolts

FullConTech kicked off with TAF Academy senior Jackson Patterson interviewing Governor Jay Inslee about tech-related opportunities in Washington. During the interview, Governor Inslee committed to boosting children’s access to technology, getting more young women into apprenticeship programs, and retaining skilled STEM teachers.

Afterwards were the Flash Talks, which were three 15-minute speeches about the real-life struggles and rewards of maximizing tech talent. Two Discover Sessions followed: “Grow, Attract, Retain Inside Companies” and “Grow, Attract, Retain in the Community-At-Large,” respectively. The sessions were each divided into more specific topics, like how to prepare employees for different and more challenging jobs, how to attract a diverse talent force, how to build a culture for retaining talent, how to build an industry pipeline, how to maintain a healthy growth environment, and how to retain tech innovators and startups.  After lunch, attendees developed strategies for and solutions to common tech industry challenges at the Invent Sessions.

Standout Moments and Insights

Daniel Browning, support engineeer at BoldIQ, delivered a touching speech that immediately became a crowd favorite. Browning comes from a military family seven generations-deep, but had to end his own military career after getting a serious injury. He broke into the tech community after finding success as one of WTIA’s Draft Day candidates. “If you want to go quickly, go alone,” he said. “If you want to go far, go together.”

I personally enjoyed the “Attracting a Diverse Talent Force” session, which featured four female tech executives. Jessie Woolley-Wilson, chair, CEO, and president of DreamBox Learning, had a lot of memorable insights about tapping into her employees’ capabilities.  “Empathy is not possible if you are not proximate…Normally, you’ll ask your employees what they want. Try to ask them what they need, and you’ll be surprised by the answer. There’s a huge difference. And you can help them to get there.”

We owe a special thanks to all of our fantastic sponsors: Comcast, Accenture, Galvanize, Deloitte, Department of Commerce, Washington State University, Bellevue College, Seattle University, Renton Technical College, Pacific Science Center, Logic 20/20, Greater, TriDigital, our awesome speakers, facilitators, volunteers, and most of all, the attendees for their active participation.

Check out photos from FullConTech here.

Do you have thoughts on how to improve FullConTech? Click here, and head here for information on upcoming events.