DEFENSE INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPSkill Gap Study

Beth AshmanNinigret Partners

February 2012

Supported by

2

Purpose

• Identify and understand skill gaps affecting firms in Rhode Island’s Defense Sector today and projected in the next five years.

• Identify skill areas that could contribute to the growth of defense employers in Rhode Island

• Analysis is inclusive of all occupational groups and all skill areas that contribute to the success of RI Defense businesses.

3

Describe your company’s defense work

Other (please specify)

Textiles

Precision parts and components

Other manufacturing

Electronics or instrument manufacturing

General support and maintenance services

Computer systems design services

Management services

Scientific research and development services

Engineering services

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

About the Survey Respondents

4

Are you doing contract work to support the following customers? (check all that apply)

Department of Energy

Local Security/Emergency Response (e.g., Police, Fire, EMS)

FEMA or State Emergency Man-agement Agencies

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Defense

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Yes (prime or subcontract in any tier) Not presently, but pursuing this market

Number of Respondents out of 67

About the Survey Respondents

67 R

espo

nden

ts

5

What is the anticipated outlook for the defense portion of your business in Rhode Island in the next five years?

50%

14%

21%

15%

Expansion

Expand only to keep pace with economic growth

Stay the same

Decline

Outlook from Survey

Critical Skill Gaps

7

1. Number of hires by typeEngineersTechniciansSkilled production workers

2. Difficulty of filling positionsDifficult (many open positions unfilled)Marginal (job searches longer than ideal)Easy (filling open positions quickly)

3. Skill gaps observed in applicant pool

Identifying Critical Skill Gaps

Financial/Contract Administrators

Program Management

Data Entry Operators

Logistics

Administrative

Degreed Engineers

Technicians (Engineering/CIS/Science)

Skilled Production

50 100 150

10

11

12

18

50

51

63

123En

try

Leve

l

Hiring Projections for the Next Year

Financial and Contract Managers

Advanced Computer Operation

Program Management

Technical Writers

Skilled Production Workers

Administrative

Logistics

Technicians (Engineering/CIS/Science)

Degreed Engineers

-10 40 90 140

7

7

10

12

13

14

18

43

64

Financial and Contract Managers

Logistics

Administrative

Program Management

Technicians (Engineering/CIS/Science)

Degreed Engineers (Master’s Level and Above)

-10 40 90 140

6

9

16

18

26

35

Mid

Lev

elSe

nior

Lev

el

9

How would you describe your company’s ability to find and hire the right talent?

Perc

ent d

ifficu

lt or

mar

gina

lDifficult or Marginal Percent Number of respondents

Other Engineers 83% 40

Logisticians 76% 25

Computer or Electrical Engineers 74% 35

Technicians 65% 32

Production Workers 60% 12

Financial & Contract Administration 57% 24

Business Administration 47% 22

10

Top Five Critical Skill Gaps by Career

11

How many people do you hire per year in Rhode Island in your company or division?

0 – 3 4 – 12 13 – 25 26 – 50 Greater than 50

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Hiring

The Workforce Pipeline

13

26 Defense Employers Support STEM Education

14

Rating Potential Defense Industry Partnership (DIP) Education Efforts

K-12 STEM Education

Industry Activities with Business Schools

Organizing to support college engineering programs

0 5 1015202530 35404550

9

8

11

10

13

17

10

15

9

14

8

8

4- Very Interested321- Not Interested

count of respondents

Supporting STEM Education

15

What types of cooperative activities would benefit your company with regard to internship programs?

Not Beneficial Highly Beneficial

Share best practices for successfully supporting interns

Mentoring skills sessions for employees who will work with interns

Improve internship preparation by local college programs to help students meet workplace ex-

pectations

More interaction with faculty to help get ap-propriate intern referrals

Align curriculum with industry needs

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0

2.5

2.8

3.1

3.1

3.2

Supporting STEM Education

16

Engineering and Computer Science Bachelor’s DegreesRhode Island Schools and UMass Dartmouth, 1989-2009

Engineering and computer science graduates continue to be in high demand while the degree pipeline does not grow.

Source: IPEDS database in NSF webcaspar.

19871989

19901991

19921993

19941995

19961997

19982000

20012002

20032004

20052006

20072008

20090

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

Computer & Infor-mation Science

Engineering

17

Women as a Percent of Select Technology Degrees

19891990

19911992

19931994

19951996

19971998

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

9%

7%

44%

16% Engineering TechComputer Tech

Asso

ciat

esBa

chel

or’s

19891990

19911992

19931994

19951996

19971998

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

18%

14%

35%

21% EngineeringComputer and In-formation Science

Source: IPEDS database in NSF webcaspar.

Rhode Island Schools and UMass Dartmouth, 1989-2009

Moving Forward

19

Short Term

Professional development for current employees

Recruit and train transitioning military personnel

Support college engineering programs•quality of student experiential learning opportunities•collaborative research

Collaborative internship program

Manufacturing expertise to support the Innovation Economy •build a college-level Manufacturing Education in RI

Organize to support STEM education•increase student interest, preparation, and enrollment

Med

ium

Long

Term

Framework for Action

Contact Information

Beth AshmanNinigret Partnersbeth@ninigretpartners.com774 719 3097 (mobile)