Silicon Valley's Entry-level Skilled Workers Are In Demand

By Daniel Newell

Through my efforts, the San Jose State University Career Center released its annual job development report last month and made it public for the first time. The report analyzes job availability and job development efforts as it pertain to current and recent college students.

In regard to full-time career positions, the SJSU Career Center’s job database, SpartaJobs identified the College of Business as having the greatest share of job opportunities with 27.72% of the pie, the College of Engineering came in second with 22.46%, followed by the College of Science at 12.04%.

When analyzing part-time, internship, seasonal, and temporary opportunities, roles which are often used for on-boarding to full-time career positions, the break down was different. The College of Business still leads in being the college in greatest demand by employers by having the most job opportunities with 19.80%, in second, three colleges came very close with less than ½ a percent difference from each other, the College of Social Science at 15.98%, the College of Applied Science and Arts 15.61%, and the College of Engineering 15.26%.

The SJSU Career Center has experienced increases in almost all areas of employer connection and recruitment events. Job postings and attendance at job fairs have increased significantly. The SJSU Career Center reports that approximately 13,000 part-time, internship, seasonal, or temporary opportunities were developed with an estimated available income of approximately $140,000,000.00.

In closing, the outlook for job opportunities as it pertains to entry-level skilled workers looks bright. There are several job opportunities made available to current and recent college students. Silicon Valley’s job growth seems to be on the incline. If this momentum keeps up, we will see many of these positions become permanent full-time career positions that can result in a more stable and healthier local economy.

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California Unemployment Figures - March 2011

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after 12 months of a 12.4% or greater unemployment rate, for the first time in one year, CA has experienced a decline of .2%. The new unemployment rate in CA is 12.2%. This figure is high, but a decline after 12 solid months of being at or above 12.4% is a sign of relief.  

The only state with a higher unemployment rate than CA is Nevada, at 13.6%, the lowest is North Dakota at 3.7%, followed by Nebraska at 4.3%. 

The national unemployment rate is 8.9%.

- Daniel Newell

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Industry Forecast: at-a-glance - Health/Fitness

On March 17^th, 2011, I visited the International Health, Racquet and Sports club Association (IHRSA) convention; a network of business and professionals in the health industry. The conference was hosted in San Francisco, CA at the Mascone Convention center. I attended to conduct labor analysis to gain a better understanding of the labor market in this industry to identify possible sectors of growth and decline. I spoke with approximately 30 businesses in health/fitness software, equipment and facilities. From this sample, I collected a general summary of trends, forecasts and opinions of business owners and representatives.

There seemed to be a general consensus that within the past two years, this industry has experienced a slow-down in employment. The recession has affected employment of high level positions. Although the market within this industry has been fairly slow-growing, the majority of the professionals stated that the outlook of this industry appears to be promising with an immediate growth in marketing, sales, and management. The industry is currently in the beginning phases of growth. Like any industry, when this begins, marketing, business and sales professionals are necessary to promote and manage service and product availability in an attempt to increase general revenues.

Many of the businesses had stated that they have begun to incorporate software and digital technology into their services and equipment. Due to the ongoing technology crave, many businesses are now incorporating software technology into their products, such as body fat estimators, heart rate measurement systems, and even music entertainment products to enjoy while exercising. The general consensus was that software engineers are now being recruited to the health/fitness industry to develop the next cutting edge software advancements that can work in collaboration with exercise equipment designed by mechanical engineers. These software advancements incorporate music, videos, health information/measurements, and sports club management systems. The majority of representatives predicted a growth in hiring of both mechanical and software engineers within one to two years.

I attended a marketing training at the event which included approximately 150 businesses and fitness professionals. The emphasis was on social media marketing which in my opinion, was encouraged over more traditional forms of marketing, such as flyers, magazine/newspaper ads and so forth. The panel of businesses leaders provided information and resources in marketing and branding, again, another sign that marketing professionals are on the rise.

From the businesses I surveyed, the majority of their products were in large part designed and manufactured in the U.S. which may hint that fitness and exercise companies in the U.S tend to stay fairly local.

One business in particular stated significant growth in employment. This business was an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant company. Apparently recent ADA revisions have had an impact on this sector due to accessibility requirements, specifically pools, to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Overall, the businesses surveyed except for one, have not experienced layoffs but have experienced a slowdown and are now beginning to taper off and are hiring again. One business provided a five year forecast that expressed a possible employment growth of up to 30% within the industry as a whole.

In my opinion, to summarize my experience, I would suggest that marketing, business, sales, and physical therapist professionals will be on the rise in this industry immediately with a possible growth in software and mechanical engineers in the next one to two years. Ultimately the industry seemed vibrant and optimistic.

On a side note, Zumba seemed to be an exciting and engaging subsector which includes fashion designers who create the unique and animated attire for this exercise routine.

- Daniel Newell

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