Economic conditions over the past year have brought most nations in the world to a state of flux. What once appeared to be a thriving economy has now been in one of the steepest recessions in decades. To get our economy back on track, organizations will need to seek IT investments and solutions that increase productivity, improve security and compliance, and support growth. It is critical that educators assume a long-term view in attracting, educating, and transitioning future IT professionals and focus on identifying future workplace needs and positioning their programs to prepare graduates to meet those needs. In this paper, the authors employ a modified value chain approach to attracting, educating, and transitioning future IT professionals into the workplace.