Wichita Metro Workforce Profile Knowledge & Skill Base Manufacturing accounts for roughly 18.5% of Wichita metro area employment – over double the national percentage (8.9%.) Much of the Wichita area workforce is accustomed to shift work due to the area's industrial history. Large manufacturers commonly run traditional 3-shift operations or flexible 24-hour schedules. The labor force is highly skilled, in large part due to the high concentration of manufacturing firms in the area using high technology design and production methods. According to a Milken Institute study, Wichita has the highest concentration of aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturing employment (skills) in the nation. Wichita area manufacturers also utilize these precision production skills to produce high value-added products such as industrial-commercial machinery, computer equipment, fabricated metal products, instrumentation and controls, photographic equipment, plastic and composite products, chemicals, petroleum refining equipment and electronic equipment. Portion of Total Employment in Manufacturing Sector
Wichita Metro Area Educational Attainment Of metro area residents age 25 and over (394,998 persons), nearly 88% are high school graduates and 27% hold bachelor’s or advanced degrees.
Source: Census Bureau American Community Survey – 2010 Labor Availability Wichita Metro Area had 2010 population of 623,061 persons. Workforce availability is enhanced by the area's healthy population growth. Metro Area population grew by 51,895 persons (9.1%) from 2000 to 2010. It is a relatively young population with 2010 median age of 35.0 years (national median age 37.2 years.) Sedgwick County (pop. 498,365) is the central county of the MSA (80% of MSA population.) Planning Department county population projection is 582,000 in 2035. The 2011 Wichita metro area civilian labor force was 307,648 persons with an unemployment rate of 8.1%, representing about 24,800 persons. Approximately 5,200 high school graduates are produced annually in Sedgwick County alone. There are over 36,400 college students in the Wichita metro area (about 16,500 are part-time.) These institutions graduate roughly 2,500 bachelor degrees and 1,900 associate degrees annually. McConnell Air Force Base borders southeast Wichita. Its presence adds about 2,000 spouses of military personnel to the labor pool. The base also produces about 500 local military discharges annually. These discharged personnel offer excellent technical skills in a wide variety of fields. McConnell's mission is secure (primarily aerial refueling.) In November 2005, recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) passed into law. BRAC 2005 increased base personnel by approximately 520 positions, making McConnell AFB the largest "super tanker base" in the United States. Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development & Business Research conducted an extensive 2007 survey of the South Central Kansas regional workforce. It contains extensive data on availability and skills of the Available Labor Pool (ALP) – which includes both currently employed and unemployed persons. |  Martin K. EbyDondlinger & Sons Construction CompanyLegacy BankCase New HollandJohnson Controls – YorkConco, IncStar LumberWescon ProductsHouse of SchwanBKD, LLPIMA Financial GroupSullivan Higdon & SinkMeritrust Credit UnionHutton Construction Allen Gibbs & HoulikBeechcraft CorporationBlack Hills EnergyBombardier LearjetCapitol Federal Savings BankCommerce BankEquity BankFoulston SiefkinGrant ThorntonHutton Construction CorporationKansas Gas ServiceMeritrust Credit UnionProfessional Engineering ConsultantsSullivan Higdon & SinkWal-Mart Stores Inc. - EastWestar EnergyWichita Eagle |
