The Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) holds the lowest unemployment rate of the state of North Carolina. With high growth forecasts in our region, it’s important to know where gaps lie in terms of talent acquisition and its struggles.

A survey was conducted across a 10-county region in Western North Carolina including Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Yancey Counties. Participating partners including the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, and the Land of Sky P-20 Council began working with independent nonprofit institute RTI International to survey these areas. The goal is to provide a report that will be helpful in understanding our area’s hiring needs, provide that information to area teachers and trainers, connect policymakers in education, workforce, and economic development, and inform regional stakeholders over the next three years.

Running from March 15 – May 31, 2022, over 1300 survey responses were compiled regarding these industries’ current and future hiring needs and their expectations for future growth. The results were not surprising. Similar to the results of the 2018 survey of the same, every industry surveyed, regardless of the size of the business, anticipates strong growth over the next three years. Combined, our area industries will likely need to employ an additional 22,150 to 44,140 people to keep up with the growth’s demand. Approximately 10-30% of these new employees will likely come from outside of our region.

The two industries anticipating the largest near-future growth are Healthcare and Manufacturing, which are expecting to hire a minimum of a whopping 11,795 new employees over the next three years.

Depending on the industry, many employers are seeking candidates with credentials such as a degree from a 4-year college/university or a community college associate degree. Some industries such as construction, retail, and hospitality are seeking employees with a GED or high school diploma. 

Credentials are not the only thing employers look for. There are several personal qualities that employers are seeking including responsibility and self discipline, the ability to take initiative, critical thinking, communication, and time management. All but one industry stated that the most difficult quality to find in new talent is responsibility and self discipline. Most employers, 89.6%, will rely on on-the-job training to strengthen their existing workforces in addition to seeking new talent with these credentials and qualities. 

The majority of employers do see obstacles in obtaining all of these new employees, the largest three of these are available and affordable housing, wages, and access to childcare. Sourcing this new talent still comes mostly from networking and an employer’s sphere of influence. The second two largest sources are online job portals and, interestingly enough, social media. Internships are also a large source, being the preferred method for the hospitality and retail industries to engage with K-12 students.

Every industry in our region will be on the hunt for new talent in the coming years. Our region will need to continue to focus on area colleges, public school systems, job training opportunities, and strong networking within their communities in order to foster their projected growth.

For the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s detailed State Of Our Workforce report, please see https://www.ashevillechamber.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/soow2022_booklet.pdf.