Clusters 101 Orange County Workforce Investment Board Connie Chai Scholl Stephanie Koontz

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Clusters 101Orange County Workforce Investment
BoardConnie Chai SchollStephanie Koontz
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Agenda

• What are clusters?
• Why clusters?
• Clusters and Workforce Development
• Best Practices Orange County

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(No Transcript)
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What are Clusters?

• Clusters are geographic concentrations of
  interconnected companies, specialized suppliers,
  service providers, and associated institutions in
  a particular field that are present in a nation
  or region.
• Generally, clusters are determined through
  evaluation of local and regional employment
  patterns.

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Why Are Clusters Important?

• Clusters create a critical mass/concentration and
  act as commercial magnets that attract customers,
  investment, a skilled workforce, and a
  specialized infrastructure.
• High-growth rates and high-multiplier effects
  drive economic development and wealth creation in
  a region.
• Competitive Advantage by virtue of location.

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Examples of Other Successful Clusters

• Silicon Valley
• Napa Valley
• Hsing Chu Science Park, Taiwan, ROC

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Clusters Workforce Development

• Clusters promote collaboration between industry,
  education and government
• Successful collaborations address recruitment,
  training and skill shortages.

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Clusters Workforce Development

• The cluster approach offers a more efficient and
  effective way to deliver programs and services.
• Clusters can help establish priorities for
  training programs that can be delivered to
  specific geographic areas and businesses with
  similar workforce needs.

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Orange County Clusters

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How to Read the OC Clusters Table

• Employment is the number of individuals
  employed in that respective cluster within Orange
  County.
• Multiplier indicates the number of jobs that
  support (either directly or indirectly) the
  employee in that cluster occupation.
• Output indicates the productive output each
  worker in the respective cluster generates
  annually.

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Clustered firms represent growth parts of Orange
County labor market

• Projected employment growth
• Firms in clusters 5.1
• Firms not in clusters -9.1

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Tourism

• Firms that provide and arrange a wide array of
  amusement, recreation, and visitor services.
• These include hotels and motels, restaurants,
  travel agencies, and car rental companies.

• Amusement/Recreation Attendants
• Cashiers
• Guards/Watch Guards
• Waiters and Waitresses
• Food Preparation Workers
• Restaurant Cooks
• Food Service and Lodging Managers
• Bartenders
• Maid and Housekeeping Cleaners

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Business Professional Services

• Firms that provide a wide array of services to
  the business community including management,
  legal, architectural, accounting and personnel
  supply services.

• Financial Managers
• Accountants and Auditors
• Account Collectors
• Accounting Clerks
• Administrative Services Managers
• Employment Interviewers
• Drafters/Computer Assisted Drafters
• Systems Analysts, Sales Agents
• Telemarketers and Solicitors
• Paralegal Personnel
• Legal Secretaries

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Defense Aerospace

• Firms that are primarily engaged in manufacturing
  or assembling aircraft, ships, and
  defense-related products.

• General Machinists
• Sheet Metal Mechanics
• Welders
• Assemblers and Fabricators
• Electrical and Electronic Engineers
• General Maintenance Repairers
• Computer Engineers and Programmers
• Inspectors and Testers

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Health Services

• Firms that provide medical and health-related
  services to the public through hospitals and
  other medical facilities.

• Registered Nurses
• Certified Nursing Aides
• Licensed Vocational Nurses
• Certified Home Health Aides
• Medical Assistants
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists

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Construction

• Firms that build, repair, and demolish building
  throughout Orange County as well as those firms
  that specialize in a specific part of that
  process.

• Carpenters
• Drywall Installers and Tapers
• Plumbers
• Pipefitters and Steamfitters
• Electricians
• Cement Masons
• Painters and Paperhangers
• Operating Engineers
• Construction Machine Operators
• Construction Managers
• Roofers

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Energy Environment

• An emerging cluster that is primarily engaged in
  developing and manufacturing products with
  applications in energy distribution and
  environmental services.

• Environmental Analysts
• Health Specialists
• Refuse Collectors
• Electric and Electronic Engineers
• Instrumentation and Calibration Technicians

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Communications

• Firms that research and manufacture
  communications related products.
• The cluster also includes firms that provide
  point-to-point communications services such as
  cellular phones and pagers.

• Production Inspectors
• Testers and Graders
• Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers

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Computer Hardware

• Firms that manufacture and assemble electronic
  components and computer products. The cluster
  emphasizes high technology and computer-related
  products and their input components.

• Electrical Engineers
• Electrical Technologists
• Electrical Technicians
• Electrical Assemblers
• Sales Engineers
• Sales Representatives
• ASIC Engineers
• Facility or Quality Control Managers

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Computer Software

• Firms that provide computer and software-related
  services. The services include computer
  programming, prepackaged software, and software
  development.

• Software Engineers
• Database Administrators
• Customer Support Specialists
• Project Managers
• Technical Writers
• Sales Representatives
• Inspectors
• Testers
• Quality Assurance Auditors
• Network Systems Administrators

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Biomedical

• Firms that research, manufacture, or process
  biological, chemical, and medical products,
  including medical and industrial chemicals and
  their preparations.

• Chemists
• Chemical Technicians
• Optical Goods Workers
• Biological Scientists
• Physical Scientists
• Production Inspector
• Testers and Graders
• Medical and Clinical Lab Technologists
• Quality Assurance Auditors

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A Best Practice Computer Cluster Collaborative
2007
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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Snapshot
• Approximately 1 in 30 workers (50,470, or 3.3)
  in Orange County is employed within the computer
  cluster.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Compare
• Orange County has a higher concentration of
  computer and computer parts manufacturing as
  compared to the state level (42.4 vs. 32.6).

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Industry Growth
• The late 1990s showed a rise in computer cluster
  employment within the County.
• Over the ten year period from 1996 to 2006,
  computer cluster employment within the County
  increased 8.6 percent.
• Within the County, growth in the computer cluster
  as a whole is expected to increase 33.0 percent
  from 2006 to 2016.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Industry Growth
• Of the majority of employers surveyed
• 52.5 expect to increase the number of permanent
  employees at their business location over the
  next 12 months,
• 42.5 expect to stay the same, and 2 expect to
  have less permanent employees at their location
  12 months from now.
• Overall, computer cluster employers expect to
  increase their workforce by 7.6 over the next 12
  months.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Understanding Workforce Issues and Challenges
• 2/3 Orange County computer cluster employers have
  difficulty Recruiting non-entry level employees
  with adequate experience and understanding of the
  industry.
• 62 of employers indicated difficulty Recruiting
  employees with reasonable salary requirements.
• 18 of employers indicated that they Always or
  Frequently recruit individuals from outside
  Orange County and 22.5 indicated they
  Sometimes recruit from outside the County.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Understanding Workforce Issues and Challenges
• When hiring for non-entry level positions
• 46.0 of employers typically recruit from outside
  their organization
• Overall, more employers recruited from outside to
  fill their non-entry level positions than
  promoted from within their organization.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Occupational Assessment
• The majority of employers indicated difficulty
  finding qualified applicants.
• 62 of employers expressed difficulty finding
  qualified computer software engineers, the
  highest in the survey.
• Among the firms employing each occupation, at
  least 1/4 expect to increase the number of
  workers in each position in a year.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Occupational Assessment
• Employers anticipated double-digit growth in
  cluster occupations, with the highest growth
  percentages expected for
• computer software engineers (22.5 growth)
• sales representatives (19.5 growth)
• database administrators (18.5 growth).

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Occupational Assessment
• When asked to reflect on recent hires at their
  organization, employers indicated that new hires
  tend to be most deficient in
• technical writing skills
• interpersonal communication skills
• creative problem-solving skills.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Occupational Assessment
• Computer cluster employers indicated a preference
  for an associates degree specific to the
  position over a general bachelors degree for
  most occupations.
• Sales manager was the only occupation where a
  general bachelors degree was preferred.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• There are a lot of numbers here
• What do they mean?
• How do we use them?

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• Workforce Training Opportunities
• Certificate program for entry-level programmers
  or technicians in the industry.
• Associates degree programs created for working
  technicians or programmers to become managers, as
  well as on-site customized training for current
  employees.

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• OCCUPATIONS ESTIMATED TO
• SUFFER FUTURE SHORTAGES
• Computer Software Engineers
• Sales Representatives
• Electrical Electronic Engineering Technicians
• Sales Managers

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• OCCUPATIONS LIKELY TO BE
• UNDER-SUPPLIED
• Inspectors, Testers and Graders
• Computer Programmers
• Research Development Technicians
• Customer Service Representatives
• Assemblers or Electrical Electronic Assemblers
• Database Administrators
• Computer Support Specialists

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Industry Cluster FocusCOMPUTER

• THERE ARE NO OCCUPATIONS IN THIS CLUSTER
  ESTIMATED TO NOT SUFFER A SHORTAGE

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What did we learn from this Cluster Study?

• Two out of three employers in Orange County
  indicated at least some difficulty recruiting
  non-entry level employees.
• Almost half of employers indicated at least some
  difficulty recruiting entry level employees.
• Over half of employers indicated difficulty
  finding qualified applicants for specific
  occupations.
• Employers want to work with the WIB!

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What are we doing about all this?

• Working with local community colleges to develop
  specific short-term certificate training
  programs
• Working with ETP and local employers to develop
  customized technical training for current
  employees
• Always watching the market and following the
  industry in order to respond quickly to changing
  market conditions.

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Take-home message Get more bang for your buck
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• Put your money where it will make the biggest
  impact!
• Workforce Development IS Economic Development
• Let your clusters and employers drive your
  training policy. Cluster-based training
• Provides a pipeline of workers on every career
  ladder level
• Offers these workers chances to advance within
  and across industry clusters
• Listen to the entire cluster not just the top
  of the food chain!