THE DRIVER
Preparing to Grow the Economy by Assessing the Regional Workforce
THE CHALLENGE
As the regional economic development organization for Mobile County and surrounding communities, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce wanted to ensure a highly skilled and available supply of workers to meet the needs of existing and future industry in the area. They needed to understand where gaps might exist and why, and any viable workforce preparedness solutions that should be considered in regard to education, training, and talent attraction.
THE SITUATION
Mobile competes with several nearby regions for the same target growth industries. Some of the competing regions have more economic and cultural diversity or other attributes that make workforce preparedness and attraction a challenge.
Confident there were workforce development strategies to pursue, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce determined they would obtain a full assessment of the region's workforce size, geographic distribution, growth, average wage, educational attainment, and the industries and occupations within the manufacturing employment. The Chamber also intended to understand the strengths and weaknesses of its workforce through the lens of the industry sectors they sought to attract.
THE SOLUTION
Global Location Strategies and Chmura Economics & Analytics partnered to provide evidence and experience-based analysis. Using robust labor data from Chmura and deep industry attraction insights from GLS, an exhaustive analysis was conducted over the course of 12 weeks, covering the following key themes:
- Market Analysis: commuting patterns, demographics, economics trends, and major industries and occupations.
- Salary and Wages: industry and occupation wage data and comparison.
- Skills Assessment: supply and demand of skills in the region and potential gaps.
- Competitiveness: how Mobile’s labor force measures up across industries and against competitive regions.
- SWOT Analysis: strengths and weaknesses of the labor market, potential opportunities for improvements, and potential threats to prepare for.
The analysis concluded with recommendations and best practice examples from communities that have addressed workforce development and economic diversification.
THE RESULTS
The comprehensive nature of the study revealed a number of new and interesting findings within each of the five key topics analyzed. Efforts are now underway to harness the support of community stakeholders and to develop a plan that achieves the region’s workforce development goals. With the analysis and recommendations from the Global Location Strategies and Chmura Economics & Analytics team, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce officials are pleased to have information and direction to chart a forward path.
THE IMPACT
The workforce analysis report was presented to the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce executives in the Spring of 2019 and Chamber officials plan to take action to effectively create impact today and for the multiple generations to follow.
Our team plans to put many actions into place based on this study. There is evidence that backs the need to provide new strategies and plans on how we will address our workforce needs for the community. This is not a study that will be put on a shelf.
David Rodgers
Vice President of Economic Development
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
Initiating this comprehensive labor analysis demonstrates the wise stewardship of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. As a result of the report, they now know where and how to properly invest community efforts in workforce development, thereby eliminating wasted time and money while maximizing opportunities for new and expanded industrial development.
Leslie Peterson
President & Chief Strategy Officer
Chmura