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Kent economic development staff highlights Kent Valleys role in aerospace, workforce pipelines
Summary
City economic development staff told the council the Kent Valley accounts for a large share of the regions aerospace and manufacturing output and outlined employer convenings and apprenticeship partnerships to retain local firms and workers.
Bill Ellis, Kents chief economic development officer, told the City Council on March 4 that the Kent Valley contributes a substantial share of Washington states aerospace and manufacturing output and outlined ongoing work to retain and grow local employers.
Ellis said recent input-output analysis shows the Kent Valleys transportation and warehousing, wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors together produce tens of billions of dollars in economic output for the state. He said Kent Valley alone accounts for about 34% of the states aerospace output and that the valleys total economic output for the sector is roughly $28 billion a year.
The figures matter because, Ellis said, employers and the local economy depend on a regional supply chain and a skilled pipeline of workers. He told the council the city is convening employers and partners to address recruitment, retention and compliance barriers for small and medium aerospace and manufacturing firms, and that the city has kicked off an "employer table" of CEOs and public partners to develop practical steps.
"We kicked it off in November of last year, at the Museum of Flight, and this is a photo of that. We had 20 CEOs of aerospace companies at the table," Ellis said, describing the first two meetings and related work committees on education/skills and contract compliance.
Ellis said the city is coordinating with AJAC (the Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Committee), school districts and local training partners to expand pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathways for high-school students and teachers, and that Port of Seattle partnership funds are supporting professional development with Kent School District teachers.
He also described private redevelopment in the citys retail corridors: Rhino Investments owns the former Tops supermarket site on East Hill and plans construction on a reconfigured 66,000-square-foot shopping center that will include Burlington Coat Factory and other tenants, with construction expected to start this month and openings later this year.
Ellis reviewed rent and lease-rate trends in the industrial market and said Kent Valley lease rates have risen in recent quarters to levels similar to South Seattle, diverging from TacomaFife prices. He said the city is tracking how that shift affects small manufacturers and the mix of new and legacy industrial space.
Council members responded with praise for the departments outreach and the employer convening; the record shows no formal action or motion tied to the report.
The report included references to tools and programs the city is using or promoting, including AJAC, Port of Seattle partnership funds, Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship efforts and the federal Foreign Trade Zone program, which Ellis said can reduce tariff costs for cross-border supply chains.
Ellis told council members he will provide updates as the employer table and school-district partnerships advance.
