Quality, Affordable workforce

Salina has long been considered the employment hub of North Central Kansas, with nearly 5,000 employees commuting daily to Salina from outside the county.  A trained and available workforce is a critical concern for any business, and the partnership between the City of Salina, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, and the State of Kansas is your local support network that helps you meet your employment needs, through a variety of services:

Recruitment

• Kansas Department of Commerce--Multiple service: job postings, career fairs, screening and skills assessment, training grants
• Salina Area Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Services--Specific employer driven programming: targeted career fairs, resume collections, trainer coordination, many other services
• Community Employment Support Services--A supportive community for working families: public transportation services, childcare services, community safety net collaborative services

Labor Pool Identification

The Docking Institute, at the request of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, conducted a Salina Laborshed Analysis in 2011, to indentify potential employees willing to commute or relocate to Salina for employment opportunities.  The independant study analysis identified the Salina Kansas Labor Basin, comprised of 13 counties, as having a total population of 200,452, and an available labor pool of 44,919 individuals.

The study profiled the Salina Available Labor Pool as follows.

AVAILABLE LABOR POOL for Salina, Kansas

The Salina Available Labor Pool of 44,919 workers is comprised of individuals…

• Currently not working but looking for full-time employment (8.3% or 3,731)
• Currently working full- or part-time and looking for other full-time employment (20.3% or 9,103))
• Currently not working in any manner, but willing to consider full-time employment for the right opportunity (8.3% or 3,731)
• Currently employed and not looking, but willing to consider different full-time employment for the right opportunity (63.1% or 28,354)

Quality

• 71% (31,892) have at least some college experience
• 98% (44,020) have a high school diploma
• 21% (9,432) speak at least "a little" Spanish
• Workers currently employed are distributed across the following occupational sectors:   29% (10,816) general labor; 7% (2,755) high skilled labor; 46% service sector (16,929); and 18% (6,753) professional/sales
• 44% (19,902) have training or experience in a distribution center or warehouse and 54% (24,161) would consider working in, continuing working in, or returning to, jobs in a distribution center or warehouse
• 43% (19,140)  have training or experience in a manufacturing plant and 46% (20,799) would consider working in, continuing working in, or returning to, jobs in the manufacturing sector

Availability

• 30% (13,537) are "willing to work outside their primary field of employment for a new or different employment opportunity"
• 21.6% (9,715) are willing to commute up to 45 minutes(approximately 50 miles from Salina)one way for an employment opportunity
• 68% (30,538) are willing to commute up to 30 minutes(approximately 35 miles from Salina)one way for an employment opportunity
• Of the 37,252 employed members of the available labor pool, 38% (14,283) indicated that they are underemployed

Identified the three most important job benefits, listed in order, are a good salary or hourly wage, on-the-job or paid training, and good retirement benefits.  The full Docking Institute Labor Shed Analysis is available under Documents.

The Salina Area Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey of 17 local companies, representing 6,059 employees, in order to evaluate the quality of the Salina workforce. The results, listed below, illustrate the quality of employees found in the Salina labor pool.

• Lost-time accidents averaged less than 1% (.63) of potential work time
• Cost of recordable injuries averaged $1.58 (Five companies with reportable injuries)
• Work completed on time average 93.2%
• Drug test failure rate averaged 2.27%
• Absenteeism averaged 4.2% with a median of 2%
• Employees retained more than 1 year was 81%
• Employees retained more than 5 years was 59.4%