| Sample Job Growth |
CY2004 |
CY2005 |
| Total Net Job Growth |
2,043 |
1,857 |
| Public Sector |
997 |
1,170 |
Private Sector
Retail and Service |
537 |
404 |
Manufacturing,
Technical and
Professional Services |
509 |
283 |
There is a running joke among economic development professionals that we “shoot at everything that flies overhead and take credit for anything that falls to the ground.” I believe that we should only take credit where there is a record of engagement with a prospect or client. If our “fingerprints” are on it, we can take some credit for helping to attract or advance the subject case.
Following our recent annual meeting a long standing stakeholder came up to me and said, “I get your reports and attend most of your functions, but I am not really clear about what KEDC is supposed to do or how you measure success.” He went on to inquire, “Don’t you have a mandate to create jobs in Kitsap County?”
We do indeed. Building the community’s ability to attract and retain high-value jobs and investments in Kitsap County is part of our mission statement. The operative word is “attract”. Except in rare cases it would be a misnomer to say that KEDC is creating jobs or making investments. It is enterprise, both private and public, that does that.
Over the past 30 months KEDC pursued 82 business attraction cases excluding the ISC/NASCAR project. Some were more promising than others and the nature and scope of our response varied. We also spent considerable time reaching out to146 local businesses, encouraging retention and supporting expansion efforts. This caseload represents potentially 12,000 to 17,000 new jobs.
KEDC maintains an annual sampling of full-time Kitsap County employment and job growth by category. The graph illustrates the category breakdown of the job growth.
It is the manufacturing, technical, and professional service employment category that is KEDC’s principal focus in terms of business attraction and business retention/expansion. Of the 792 jobs created in this category over the past two years we have “fingerprints” on 310 of them or about 40%. KEDC is proud of that result.
The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) projects 1,000 net new jobs annually as the target for Kitsap County for the next ten years. Over the past two years we have more than doubled that amount (4000+) when adding the small business job growth not captured by our sampling. The entire community should take credit for this result and celebrate it accordingly. Economic development is everybody’s business.
When cases are pursued with enthusiasm and professionalism, KEDC creates good will with most prospects, collaborating site consultants and economic development partners. We also build capacity within the community to engage such projects. The economic development game is much like soccer. It requires proper conditioning, teamwork, anticipation, and positioning. Scoring is infrequent but the pace is intense, the competition formidable, and the play exciting.
KEDC attempts to be around the ball at all times. We are currently engaged with seven (7) business attraction prospects. These prospects reflect a range of 900-1300 potential new jobs. In the BRE category we are currently working with five local companies on expansion efforts that could potentially create an additional 630 new jobs. We are developing case management protocols that will allow increased opportunities for our economic development partners to join us in the game.
For KEDC it is not just about attracting and retaining jobs and investment. The following accomplishments over the past 30 months reflect the important mandate we have for “setting the table” so that sustainable economic development can more readily occur:
Website - We redesigned and upgraded the KEDC website. It incorporates many special features and contains a wealth of demographic and community information. Since going live in March 2005 it has averaged 12,000 monthly visits through March 31, 2006.
BRAC – In 2005 KEDC gathered and organized information in response to mandates associated with the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Approximately 27,000 high-value jobs were potentially at risk. Kitsap fared quite well.
Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) - With the help of 14 business and community leaders we conducted structured interviews with 51 local businesses. In many cases we followed up with a range of requested services and support including a listing in our new web-based “B2B Directory.”
PSRC & the Prosperity Partnership – Members of the KEDC staff and board of directors have continuing involvement with PSRC. KEDC serves on the Economic Development District Board and helped shape the Prosperity Partnership initiative. Current initiatives include advancing the Clean Technology Cluster and higher education funding strategies.
Kitsap SEED Project – In conjunction with our interest in advancing the Clean Technology Cluster, KEDC staff is working energetically with the Port of Bremerton to advance the Kitsap Sustainable Energy Economic Development (SEED) project.
Education and Workforce Development – KEDC has established strong ties with the local education and workforce development professionals. KEDC staff serves on the West Sound Educational Leadership Council, Worker Retraining Advisory Committee, WorkFirst Advisory Committee and Workforce Readiness Taskforce– all with the goal of connecting education, workforce and business. KEDC staff is a featured presenter at the Navy’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP), providing an introduction to starting a business.
Product Development – KEDC spends considerable time and energy working with local officials and members of the real estate and development community to create and maintain an inventory of quality industrial and commercial land and buildings sufficient to meet market demand.
For more information about the KEDC and our efforts, please visit our website at www.kitsapedc.org.
Next month: Case Management: Why Doesn’t New Business Always Come to the Table?. | 