NEW ORLEANS – Greater New Orleans, Inc. has released the State of the Sector report on the water management industry. This State of Sector analysis, funded by Chevron, focuses on specifics of current and future workforce/job opportunities over the next ten years in the Greater New Orleans region.
The Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition also released an analysis showing that the water management sector is the top jobs leader in southeast Louisiana and second across the entire Coastal Zone. Their analysis, using methodology from The Data Center, shows that the water management industry is growing rapidly, bringing high-paying jobs to the area, and is a major economic driver for the state.
GNO, Inc.’s State of the Sector analysis provides industry leaders, education institutions, workforce trainers and community partners with a digestible snap shot of the jobs in the water management sector. The report provides insight into the factors driving growth in the sector and aims to answer frequently asked questions related to current and future water management workforce needs in Southeast Louisiana.
“The State of the Sector report on Water Management reveals the scope and context of labor demand from our region’s businesses,” Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., said. “I would like to give a special thank you to Chevron for providing the support that made it possible to do this work. The findings outlined in this report make it clear that as we begin to address our environmental challenges, we can also create jobs for our residents. As this industry continues to grow, it will diversify our region's economy and contribute to our economic growth, creating even more opportunity for existing and new residents.”
Key takeaways from the report include:
• The water management sector employs 30,350 people in the Greater New Orleans region and is projected to grow 23% over the next ten years
• 52% of water management jobs require only middle skills and are often overlooked as promising opportunities and viable pathways to the middle class
• The Restore Act, FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, HUD National Disaster Resilience Competition, and other key funding sources guarantee monies to water management projects over the next decades
• Multiple high-wage, high-demand career pathways are accessible to entry-level workers within the water management sector
• GNO, Inc. is working on several key initiatives and developments that will increase cluster development, innovation, workforce and business development opportunities within the water management sector
This report provides information on how workers, industry, education, and workforce development partners can capitalize upon the emerging workforce needs of regional companies and upcoming employment opportunities for the emerging job force. With a focus on the water management opportunities projected over the next ten years (to 2025), this data will inform individual choices about education and training programs to pursue, and institutional investment in programs projected to be in high-demand moving forward.
The following data points can be found in the report:
• Current Water Management Workforce Demographics, which reveal that approximately one in five Water Management workers are 55 years or older
• Top Ten Middle and High Skilled Occupations in Water Management, inclusive of project job openings over the next decade and median hourly earnings
• Overlap of the key occupations shared by the Water Management and Energy sectors
• Top Water Management Employers
• Key Funding Sources for Water Management Projects
• Two Sample Career Ladders within the Water Management industry
The research, analysis, and creation of the report was funded by Chevron. Greater New Orleans, Inc. originally began this series of with the release of the State of the Sector Energy report in July 2015, as made possible by JPMorgan Chase.
This series of reports will continue through 2017 with analysis of the other leading industry sectors in the Greater New Orleans region: Digital Media, Advanced Manufacturing, International Trade and Biosciences.
The current report on water management and the previous report on the Energy industry can be found here
Greater New Orleans, Inc. will be promoting the region as a global hub of resilience as the co-host of RES/CON, which will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center March 1-3, 2016.
Registration for RES/CON is still open and can be found here
