Avalanche Consulting has completed a Target Industry and Workforce Analysis for the City of Georgetown.  The results of each analysis along with the presentation Avalanche made to the Georgetown City Council can be found in the documents linked below.

Based on the analysis results, we have begun identifying and marketing to businesses within the target industries.   Click on the flyers below to see information on each of these industry sectors.  If you have any questions, please contact Tina Dunbar at 512-930-3546.

Target Industry and Workforce Analysis Background

The City of Georgetown engaged Avalanche Consulting, an Austin-based economic development consulting firm, to conduct a Target Industry and Workforce Analysis for Georgetown. The main goals of the analysis were to better understand Georgetown’s labor pool, confirm existing target industries, discover new target industries, enhance the City’s marketing materials, and guide the City’s future economic development efforts.

Two primary goals for this project were to better understand the City’s labor pool size, skill composition, and geographic characteristics, and identify industries in which Georgetown can recruit and retain quality businesses that diversify the local economy, increase the average annual wage, and improve the quality of life for citizens. 

In Phase One, the consulting team developed a Workforce Analysis. This Workforce Analysis included a study of economic and demographic trends in the community, interviews and focus groups with local stakeholders, a workforce profile that identifies the top occupations in Georgetown, and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis.

By creating a Workforce Analysis, Georgetown staff, leaders, and residents will better understand our community’s existing labor force – which extends beyond the city limits – and in turn help prioritize focus areas for education, quality of life, and other investments.

In Phase Two, the consulting team developed a Target Industry Analysis. This included a performance evaluation of Georgetown’s existing target industries – assessing recent job creation trends, changes in the overall industry, and new assets available to support local growth. The consulting team then recommended updated target industries for the City of Georgetown’s economic development activities – including target cluster profiles that describe global trends affecting the industry, business factors that influence growth, and local sales messages that support location in Georgetown.

The Target Industry Analysis provides information and marketing content to support business expansion, startup, and recruitment activities within each cluster. Identifying current and potential target industries will help diversify Georgetown’s economy – providing more sustainable job opportunities for citizens and raising incomes across the community.

Why Focus on Workforce?

Workforce is one of the most discussed topics in economic development today. When making decisions about expanding or opening new facilities, businesses are often considering the availability and skills of labor ahead of other factors.

Communities creating the most jobs today generally draw from a large pool of skilled workers, have strong relationships between their educational institutions and business community, and communicate their workforce opportunities to both residents and employers.

Avalanche Consulting’s most recent Economic Index survey of over 150 economic developers around the county found that 90% of survey respondents believe that having a skilled workforce and aligned training programs have become even more important over the past year, and developing a talented workforce is the number one focus of many economic development organizations (EDOs).

A focus on workforce also has a direct effect on quality of life for a community’s residents. Education and training lead directly to higher-paying jobs for residents, which has multiplied impacts throughout the community. More residents employed in high-skill industries means more disposable income invested into the economy – a greater ability to invest in housing, a greater demand for quality of life amenities, and more support for schools and other children’s programming.

Overall, helping connect residents to education and employers to the skilled workers they need will result in more diversified industries, a resilient economy, and a higher quality of life for the entire Georgetown community.