An Examination of the North Coast Workforce
for College of the Redwoods’ Education Master Plan
by Ahn Fielding
November, 2008
A SHIFT IN THE HUMBOLDT COUNTY ECONOMY
(from the North Coast Prosperity Network)
Over the last 40 years, Humboldt County has experienced a dramatic restructuring and
diversification of its economy.
A diversified local economy is desirable because it is more stable.
In an effort to evaluate current programs and training to meet today’s economy AND the job
demand for the future, CR is looking to the TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY regional workforce
study.
The TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY report looks at job opportunity in business and industry
with career and growth potential.
This was a regional data research project consisting of Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Mendocino,
& Siskiyou counties. See Appendix A for the data relevance of Humboldt County compared to
the region.
The project was funded by Federal and State workforce development grants.
The targets were identified by using employment data from the California Employment
Development Department (Labor Market Information Division), combined with information
about firms from a proprietary database (the National Establishments Time Series or NETS
database).
Six targets of opportunity were identified (see Appendix A for a detailed description). They are:
• Diversified Health Care
• Building and Systems Construction and Maintenance
• Specialty Agriculture, Food, and Beverages
• Investment Support Services
• Management and Innovation Services
• Niche Manufacturing
WHY FOCUS ON THE TARGETS?
The Targets of Opportunity report focused on the highest growth sectors in terms of jobs, firms, and
wages since 1990.
They have been identified as the region’s most promising areas for economic and workforce
development.
Each target of opportunity includes elements that are export-oriented, population-driven, and
offer career potential for local residents.
In the region’s private sector over the last 15 years, the target industries combined contributed:
o 39% of the jobs
o 53% of the wages
Compared to the region, growth in the occupations within the Targets demonstrated:
o Job Growth: 37% in Targets vs. 4% in region
o Firm Growth: 23% in Targets vs. 1.5% in region
o Wage Growth: 10-26% in Targets vs. 6% in region
Growth in Targets
50%
40%
30%
% of Growth
20%
10%
0%
Targets
Region
Job Growth
Firm
Growth
Wage
Growth
Each target demonstrates a combination of the following “quality factors:”
1) expanding opportunity (job and/or firm growth)
2) growth quality (e.g., wage increases)
3) improving competitiveness (strong and/or growing specialization compared to California as
a whole)
4) career potential (distribution of job opportunities across the occupational spectrum)
5) key linkages (important relationships and common needs with other sectors)
See Appendix B for a more detailed breakdown of the quality factors.
SIX “PLUS ONE”
In addition to the six Targets, CR should not ignore the important occupation resource in the
public sector, specifically government and education career opportunities. In 2006:
- The Government sector provided: 15% of the county payroll, equating to $177 million to
the Humboldt County economy.
- The Education & Research sector (including higher education) provided 8% of the county
payroll, equating to $115 million to the Humboldt County economy.
- The Education sector (K-12) provided 7% of the county payroll, equating to $112 million
to the Humboldt County Economy.
Public sector training is certainly relevant to the economy and warrants further discussion and
examination of CR’s programs meeting the workforce challenges.
OTHER REAL EMPLOYMENT SECTORS
Even though the Targets research identifies specific job clusters for career potential, this does not
mean there is not job opportunity in other employment sectors. For example,
- In 2006, 11% of the Humboldt County payroll was in forestry & logging. This industry
anticipates a real need for a trained workforce to replace a retiring generation of workers.
CR should not ignore this training need.
- PG&E is looking to replace 42,000 retiring employees within the next six years.
The reason these employment sectors are not highlighted in the targets report is because they
exhibit unsteady, volatile growth or decline, potentially adversely affecting the region’s
economy. Nonetheless, they still play a vital role in Humboldt County’s economy and vitality.
WORKFORCE EVALUATION SUMMARY
Appendix C is an evaluation of CR’s current programs and degrees compared to the occupations
identified in the targets of opportunity.
This is a framework to help CR examine how its existing programs are meeting the workforce
needs. More specifically, it is being provided to help:
- determine if existing programs need adjustment to better meet workforce demand
o e.g., add commercial wiring training to existing residential wiring certificate
o e.g., develop Management certificate to add to existing degrees
- identify the absence of CR programs with high growth, high demand career potential
- evaluate the applicability of current programs in a workforce training model
Appendix D is the target occupations sorted by recurring occupation themes to further assess
“CR’s Targets.”
Some key findings in the Target cross-study are:
- Office skills are present across all six targets and vary in wage level, depending on the
technical skills required, and/or presence of management/supervision experience
- Accountants and Auditors are identified across all six targets and all are categorized as
high wage jobs
- Computer & Support Specialists are identified across all six targets and all are
categorized as mid-wage jobs
- Bookkeeping, Accounting & Auditing Clerks are identified across five of six targets and
are all categorized as mid-wage jobs
- All six targets have need for managers and supervisors (business, administrative support,
front-line, etc.). Many of CR’s programs meet the occupation needs, minus the manager
training.
Appendix A
Regional Targets Employment Percentages Compared to Humboldt County
The following chart from the Targets report shows the breakdown of the proportion of targets
employment by North Coast county. As the chart indicates, Humboldt County is close to the
region’s percentages for employment, with the exception of a reduced workforce in Specialty
Agriculture, Food & Beverages.
Key:
Diversified Health Care
- a wide range of health care options and support sectors
o includes all the support services associated with the functioning of these businesses,
such as food service, childcare, bookkeeping, and office support
Building and Systems Construction and Maintenance
- sectors which focus on physical infrastructure of communities
Specialty Agriculture, Food & Beverages
- sectors focusing on distinctive North Coast products, rather than bulk commodities that
could be grown or produced in many other regions
o these products include cheeses, wine and beer, and flowers
Investment Support Services
- professional advisory services that help people and businesses evaluate and execute
investment decisions
Management & Innovation Services
- professional assistance focused on helping other businesses develop and implement
product and process innovations
o one example would be The Stream Guys based in Trinidad who do large-scale audio
streaming for businesses such as NPR
Niche Manufacturing
- specialized producers spreading across more than 20 industry classifications, where no
individual sector employs more than a few hundred people.
- professional assistance focused on helping other businesses develop and implement
product and process innovations
o examples would be Holly Yashi and Fire and Light
Appendix B
Detailed Description of Quality Factors
Criteria
Expanding Opportunity
Growing Quality
Improving Competitiveness
Career Potential
Key Linkages
Interpretation
Job Growth
Shows how various industries have weathered
market forces and their subsequent employment
generation
Firm Growth
Growth in firms can indicate a change in
organizational of an industry, a surge in local
entrepreneurship, or attraction of outside
investment to the region
Job Quality, i.e. wage increases
High average payroll per employee relative to the
regional average indicates a sector with relatively
high productivity per employee. Additionally, pay
is a reflection of job quality and indicates the
amount of training and skill required to perform
the job.
Strong and/or Growing Regional Specialization
A concentration of greater than 1 indicates that
employment in the region is more specialized in
the industry compared with U.S. or California.
Specialization generally reflects competitiveness
and outward orientation.
Occupational Distribution and Dynamics
Occupational opportunities spread across higher,
mid and lower-levels, suggesting possible
pathways for upward mobility. Occupations that
are highly-concentrated and/or fast-growing are
of particular interest.
Important Relationships and Common Needs
Related to other sectors in important buyersupplier or complementary partnering
relationships. Share a common workforce,
markets or others.