Winthrop study: Ample ‘knowledge’ workers live right in York County

A study released this week by Winthrop University’s Social and Behavioral Research Lab shows there is a healthy supply of ‘knowledge economy’ workers living in York County that commute daily to Charlotte and would not mind relocating jobs to Rock Hill.

Scott Huffmon, director of Winthrop’s political science research lab, study focused on the skills of thousands of employed knowledge economy workers who regularly leave Rock Hill/York County for work.

“The data shows, unequivocally, that if a firm related to the knowledge economy were to relocate to Rock Hill, there is a workforce ready and able to fill those jobs. The ‘ready to work’ talent points to a workforce with the skills to perform the jobs of any knowledge economy firm that relocates to Rock Hill and the willingness to take those jobs,” Huffmon said.

Talent development is a major focus of the Knowledge Park economic development strategy. Workforce availability and skills attainment continue to be very highly ranked business location criteria for business expansion, start-up and relocation across all sectors and geographies.

“The availability of trained and experienced talent in fields such as software, design, electronics and digital media is a huge competitive advantage for Knowledge Park. With talent being the new currency in attracting and growing businesses, Knowledge Park becomes a strong choice once prospects look at the workforce already here, and ready to take employment positions which open up near home,” Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation President Greg Austin said.

The findings were released during the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation’s August Board of Directors Meeting. The RHEDC’s Innovation Committee has been overseeing talent development and innovation programs funded through two SC Innovation Challenge Grants provided by the SC Department of Commerce.

The City of Rock Hill contracted with the SBRL at Winthrop University to complete the research as part of the matching funds committed to the two grants.

Traditional research using labor statistics and employer-provided data falls short in identifying the talent residing in Rock Hill and York County because it is focused on place of employment not place of residence.

“This was one of the most complex and difficult surveying assignments the SBRL has ever addressed,” Huffmon said. “Communicating with the highly mobile workforce in York County and identifying their many skills and job functions was a challenge but one we were able to accomplish well.”

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are nearly 52,000 individuals who live in York County, but work outside of the county.
• The research identified a “latent workforce” who are outflow workers that  possess skills related to the knowledge economy and would be willing to change jobs to work in Rock Hill.
• Over 100,000 survey attempts (2/3 by email, 1/3 by telephone) were completed during February and March 2015 with a 3.96% margin of error on the research work.
• The findings indicate that of the more than 50,000 outflow workers, approximately 21,677 would be classified as Advanced Knowledge Workers (supervisory or managerial). Of that 21,677, almost 65% would take a job in Rock Hill for the same salary. Roughly 14,051 Advanced Knowledge Workers ready and able to fill knowledge economy jobs in Rock Hill.