EDAWN survey finds area companies planning to add more than 1,000 workers in next three years
Washoe County's technology industry is booming and poised to add more than 1,000 new jobs to the area in the next three years, according to a study released by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.
The small survey was conducted from April to June and asked 22 technology, medical and information services companies about the community's strengths as a place to do business.
In addition to 1,230 more jobs that companies anticipate adding, the survey indicated that projected expansion will result in 1.4 million additional square footage and nearly $486 million in new capital investment by 2007.
Gail Conkey, director of business services for EDAWN, said the anonymous survey is designed to provide a snapshot of the current business climate.
"We wanted to get a good, broad perspective of the industry," Conkey said. "The growth is continuing to be very positive with a proactive and business-friendly environment."
Of the companies interviewed, 94 percent said their staffing levels will increase or remain stable within the next few years and listed quality of life and good tax environment as the biggest community strengths.
Conkey said the jobs that technology and medical companies bring to the area are desirable because they are high-paying.
"They are the kind of jobs we want to grow here because they add to a very strong local economy," she said. "These are highly skilled jobs and secure jobs."
The companies interviewed also were asked to rate the performance of current employees. On a scale of one to five, productivity of workers was rated four, followed by stability and quality at more than three each. The category companies listed as below average was availability of workers and indicated they have had problems recruiting skilled employees.
Finding qualified people, limited skilled labor force and lack of educational system to support needs of labor in the high-technology industry were all listed as obstacles the businesses face when recruiting employees.
"Recruitment is impacted by the low employment rate," Conkey said.
"The skilled labor in Northern Nevada changes and shifts. It takes time to retrain people for this industry to ramp up technological skills and medical skills."
This is the second survey released by EDAWN for the technology and medical sectors.
The organization conducts surveys in four phases for the fiscal year including finance, insurance, transportation and logistics in phase one, manufacturing in phase two, tourism, gaming and recreation in phase three and technology, medical and information services in phase four.
For all four phases, 137 Washoe County business leaders were interviewed and collectively project 2,318 new jobs and $925 million in capital investment during the next three years.