People are the Key to Clusters

Many factors impact the success of industry cluster initiatives, but as most cluster managers are learning, human resources (talent) is most important to this success.

Stu Rosenfeld from Regional Technology Strategies (RTS) has released an interesting new paper on how community colleges can help to address the human resource development need associated with clusters.

Here is what he has to say: "Industry clusters have become, in the United States as well as in many other parts of the world, the new mantra for economic development policy. It is a fact that businesses tend to cluster in order to take advantage of suppliers and specialized services that are attracted by concentrations of customers.

But in recent years practitioners have learned that clustering is first and foremost influenced by talent—by concentrations of experienced and skilled labor and by the availability of the customized and specialized education and training that produces and upgrades skills and knowledge. The key to the success of almost every industry cluster is the presence of a labor force with the appropriate skills for and knowledge of the industries located within the commuting boundaries of the cluster. Industry needs the “commodity skills” that are easily transferable but also wants industry specific skills, which are more scarce. Companies value access to a labor pool familiar with the operations of their businesses and able to apply skills to the cluster’s particular work environment."

Download Stu's new working paper here.