The Bidwell The Bidwell Training CenterTraining Center

Rafael Cancel-VazquezRafael Cancel-Vazquez Jason LallyJason Lally

Chris MurphyChris Murphy Ben CrabtreeBen Crabtree

Zack ReskaZack Reska Dave PierceDave Pierce

Skill Development Analysis and Career Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area

Introduction

• Analyze career opportunities• Understand skill requirements• Identify additional skills• Locate possible partnerships

Sectors

• Floral• Landscaping• Greenhouse/nursery• Agriculture• Biotechnology• (Bio)pharmaceutical

General Overview

• Pittsburgh Scenario• Job Description• Employment• Bidwell’s Courses• Suggested Courses• Partnerships• Recommendations

Floral Industry

Job Description

• Floral Designers• Create decorations with

flowers for parties, weddings, etc based on customer orders

• Work for themselves• Creativity is crucial

Skills Required

• Hard working• Motivated• Willingness to learn• Good with your hands• Able to work under pressure

Education

• High School• Vocational and technical

school• Penn College of

Technology

Employment Pittsburgh Area

• 700 employed florists • $8.50 per hour• $17,610 per year

Graphs• Annual Wages

National Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Philadelphia0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

2060019240

17610

22620

Dol

lars

($)

Graphs• Employment Breakdown

Floral Shops 81%

Grocery Stores 14%Lawn and Garden 3%

Gift Shops 2%Other 1%

Graphs• National Annual Wages

Columbia SC San Francisco

Boston National Youngstown OH

Pittsburgh Lexington KY0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

3500031430 31010

29060

2060017940 17610

15320

Dol

lars

($)

LandscapingDoes a green

thumb mean a wallet full of

green?

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Small and Medium Sized Firms• High Turnover Rate• Seasonal• Low Growth: 0.2%• A Fit for Bidwell Graduates?

8

57

05

101520253035404550556065

Num

ber o

f Job

s

Gardeners and Groundskeepers

ReplacementGrowth

Distribution of Job Openings Per Year for the Pittsburgh MSA

Job Paths• The Low Road

– From Low to Medium to High Skill

• The High Road

The Low Road• Low Skill• Start at the bottom

– Lawn/Landscape Technician

• Skill through experience

• Advancement

The Low Road• Medium Skill• First-line

supervisors• Skill through

experience• Advancement

The Low Road

• High Skill• Small Business

Owner• Capital Investment• Licensing

The High Road• Landscape Architect• Bidwell• Penn State Branch• Penn State U.Park• Graduate School?

Employment

Distribution of Workers in Pittsburgh Landscape Sector

5,700

44070

Landscaping and GroundskeepingWorkers

First-Line Supervisors/Managersof Landscaping, Lawn Service,and Groundskeeping Workers

Landscape Architects

Pittsburgh MSA, 2002

EmploymentMean Annual Salary of Landscape Sector Workers in Pittsburgh

$20,860

$30,830

$44,130

$0$5,000

$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000$30,000$35,000$40,000$45,000$50,000

Landscaping andGroundskeeping Workers

First-LineSupervisors/Managers of

Landscaping, LawnService, and

Groundskeeping Workers

Landscape Architects

Occupation Title

Mea

n A

nnua

l Sal

ary

Pittsburgh MSA, 2002

Bidwell’s Coursework• Business, Business,

Business• Pesticide Education• Basic Botany

Suggested Additions• More Business!• Management/

Leadership• Interpersonal Skills

The Bidwell Advantage• Interest in Career• Formal Education

– Business Skills

Recommendations• Strong Potential for Medium Skill Jobs• High Skill for Most Gifted/Dedicated• Increase Business Training• Establish Apprenticeships

Greenhouse

Job Description: Physical Demand

• Movement• Carry loads• Repetitive• Handle heavy

objects• Long hours

Job Description: Attention to Detail

• Dexterous with hands• Detect changes in light, temperature,

and color differences• Plant preparation

Job Description: Interpersonal Interactions

• Customer service• Transportation of plants

Starting at Bidwell

Beginner classes in:• Mathematics• Typing• English• Reading• GED preparation

Bidwell: Courses

• Botany• Plant Propagation • Greenhouse management• Pesticide• Business management• Others, totaling 780 hours

PSU McKeesport

• Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) Program

PSU University Park

• Horticulture, BS• Business/production option• Science option

University Park: Sample Courses

• Pomology• Plant/water relations• Horticulture business management• Plant nutrition/propagation• Horticultural systematics

Pittsburgh

• Entry level pay as low as $15k• Managers earn up to $40k• Experienced managers $50k and up

Pittsburgh

• Pay rates close to national leaders in Salinas, CA

• Less than 200 greenhouse employees• What those numbers indicate

How Pittsburgh ComparesMean Hourly Greenhouse Wages

8.69 8.69

7.69

77.27.47.67.8

88.28.48.68.8

Pittsburgh Salinas,Ca

National

Hou

rly

rate

in d

olla

rs

Pittsburgh

Salinas, Ca

National

Location

Pittsburgh Salaries

• Mean Pittsburgh Salaries close to national leaders, Salinas, CA

• Much greater than national averages

Pittsburgh

$15,000$15,500$16,000$16,500$17,000$17,500$18,000$18,500

Locations

Yea

rly s

alar

ies

in d

olla

rs

Mean Salary

Mean Salaries

Self-employment

• Helps growth• Increases market• Minimal investment costs• Determine market• Retail or wholesale?• Growth is exponential

Conclusion

• Careers can be valuable• Work for what you get• Constantly growing

Agriculture

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Declining agriculture throughout Pennsylvania

• Sprawl and development• Expansion in public sector• Expansion in nonprofit sector

Job Description

• General Farm Work– Propagate plants– Monitor growth– Check for pests (IPM)– Harvesting– Supply chain

management

Job Description

• Room for upward movement– Management– Supervision

• Atypical jobs in agriculture– USDA Inspector– Nonprofit work

Employment Pittsburgh MSA

• 52 General Farms in the region• $345 per week• $17,940 per year

Employment Pittsburgh MSA

• Other occupations– Graders and sorters– Inspectors, agricultural products– Production inspectors– Supervisory roles

Bidwell’s Coursework

• Agriculture/Horticulture Industry Today• Taxonomy• Basic Botany• Plant Propagation• Pesticide Management• Business Communications• Safety

Suggested Courses

• Agriculture policy• Sustainable methods in production• Soil sciences

Partnerships

• Outreach• Education

Biotechnology

Biotechnology

Use of living organisms to produce engineered products that are able to modify health or the environment.

Pittsburgh Scenario

• “One of the less expensive cities in which to operate a biomedical research and product development facility” (recent study by The Boyd Company Inc.)

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Youthful industry growing quickly• Well organized sector• PABIOTECH Association

– Facilitates access to PA’s scientific, educational, political, & financial services

– Creates commercial opportunities– Public policy strategies

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Innovation Works • Publicly funded venture capital organization • Invests in technology startups in

Southwestern Pennsylvania.• Increase new enterprise success rate by

providing to the highest potential technology companies

• Access to risk capital, business expertise, and third party resources.

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Innovation Works• Hands-on support, guidance, and

investment • Help companies maximize their

chances to attract additional capital and achieve commercial success

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Public/private partnership• Founded by UPitt, Carnegie Mellon

University, UPMC Health System, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

• PLSG invests in and supports the growth of regional life sciences companies.

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Concentrates on four core research areas”– Drug discovery tools and

targets– Medical devices– Tissue and organ

engineering– Therapeutic strategies for

neurological disorders.

Pittsburgh Scenario

• Pittsburgh region committed to a 10-year, $600 million initiative

• Catalyze the growth of its biotechnology sector to attract capital, talent, firms and technologies.

• Unique opportunity to lead biotechnology sector.

Pittsburgh Scenario

• University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University through BioVenture

• Initiative aimed at ensuring Southwestern Pennsylvania as a leader in the biotech revolution

• Spurred by the human genome project and to increase research funding

Pittsburgh Scenario – $600 million

• Total increase in direct biosciences private employment of 5,087 jobs

• Additional induced employment accounting for more than 10,600 jobs

• Total increase in startup firms of 90

• Relocations of 25 firms (with average size of 32 employees 10th year)

• $334 million in leveraged federal and other funds to the region

Job Description

• Biological Technicians• Assist biological and medical

scientists in laboratories. • Performs routine tasks and

analytical procedures under the supervision of a research scientist

• Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment

Job Description

• Monitor experiments• Make observations• Calculate and record

results • Analyze organic

substances (e.g., blood, food, and drugs)

Employment Pittsburgh Area

• 66 biomedical/biotechnology firms in the region employ more than 5,300 people

• $16 per hour• $34,000 per year

Bidwell’s Coursework

• Safety and First Aid• Technical Mathematics 1 & 2• Introduction to Computers and Applications• Instrumental Analysis 1 & 2• Quantitative Analytical Techniques• Chemistry Laboratory Techniques• General and Inorganic Chemistry 1 & 2

Suggested Courses

• Microbiology• Botany• Zoology• Genetics• Cell Biology

Partnerships

• Lectures• Hands-on laboratories

Partnerships

• University of Pittsburgh• With Carnegie Mellon - Strongest Life

Sciences Departments in the U.S.

Biopharmaceuticals and

Pharmaceuticals

Pittsburgh Scenario

“The new Pittsburgh has reinvented itself as a high-tech and medical center, with a thriving downtown area…”

-Pittsburgh.com

Pittsburgh Scenario

Growth in the Pittsburgh biotechnology and (bio)pharmaceutical fields is fostered by the Pittsburgh Lifesciences Greenhouse Organization.

Possible Jobs

• Pharmacy aide or technician.• Pharmaceutical sales.• Lab technician.

Job Description: Pharmacy aide or technician

• Fill prescriptions: count pills, mix drugs, etc.

• Complete paperwork.• Help senior pharmacist• Technicians do the more complicated

pharmacy work and tend to get paid more.

Employment Pittsburgh Area

• Pay scale: mean income 2002.– Pharmacy technician: $21,570.– Pharmacy aide: $15,130.

• Work at hospitals, nursing homes, and pharmacies (e.g. Rite Aid, CVS).

Education

• Bidwell training center: Pharmacy technician Program.– 30 week program + 6 week internship.– Courses in math, pharmacology, human

anatomy, etc.

Job description: Pharmaceutical sales

• Travel to hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies to:– Educate doctors about your company’s

drugs.– Recruit new drug accounts.

Employment Pittsburgh Area

• Often work for commission, which means your salary is dependent on your selling ability, can make as much as 40-65k.

Education:

• Two year associate’s degree.• Can be certified by American

Pharmaceutical Sales Association.

Job description: lab technician

• Conduct experiments.• Enter and analyze data.• Assist senior scientists.

Employment Pittsburgh Area

• Pay scale: start at 11.00-13.00/hour (Pittsburgh.com want ads) .

• Work in university research labs, privately owned research & development labs, hospitals, etc.

Education

• Bidwell training center: Chemical laboratory technician program.– 1 year program + 240 internship hours.– Courses in math, chemistry, physics,

analysis techniques, computers, and lab safety.

Job Possibilities

• Low: few low level jobs.• Mid: pharmacy technician, lab

technician• High: pharmacist, pharmD, PhD in

Pharmacology– Require extensive higher education.

Partnerships

• University of Pittsburgh: PharmD.– 6-year program that trains people to be

pharmacists.– First 2 years are preprofessional courses

in chemistry, biology, english, and math.– Next 4 years spent learning about

pharmacology and how to be a pharmacist.

– Can expect to make 68,000/year.

Partnerships

• Penn State University: PhD in Pharmacology.– Hershey Medical School.– Must have a BS, possible MS for

admittance.– Coursework like for PharmD, but also

learn how to do research.– Takes 4 years +– Prepares you to teach or perform

research.

Mean yearly income for Pharmacists 2000-2002

$0

$20,000

$40,000

$60,000

$80,000

2000 2001 2002

PGH

PA

National

Mean income for Pharmacy Technicians 2000-2002

$16,000.00

$18,000.00

$20,000.00

$22,000.00

$24,000.00

2000 2001 2002

PGH

PA

National

Mean income for Pharmacy Aides 2000-2002

$0.00

$5,000.00

$10,000.00

$15,000.00

$20,000.00

$25,000.00

2000 2001 2002

PGHPANational

Number of Pharmacy-related jobs in Pittsburgh 2000-2002

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2000 2001 2002

Pharmacist

Pharmacy Tech

Pharmacy Aide

Recommendations

• Floral $17,600• Landscaping

– Low skill $20,860– Medium skill $30,830

• Greenhouse/nursery $18,070• Agriculture $17,000• Biotechnology $34,000• (Bio)Pharmaceutical $30,000

Average Annual Income

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

US

$

Biotechnology

Landscaping (midskill)Biopharmaceutical

Landscaping (lowskill)Greenhouse

Floral

Agriculture

Recommendations

Number of jobs per sector• Floral 700• Landscaping

– Low skill 5,700 – Medium skill 440

• Greenhouse/nursery 200• Agriculture 2,000• Biotechnology 5,300• (Bio)pharmaceutical

– Pharmacist 1,980– Pharmacy Aids 530

Jobs

Recommendations

• Priority Sectors for Bidwell:– HIGH

• Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutical– MID

• Landscaping and Greenhouse– LOW

• Florist and Agriculture

Special Considerations

• Form partnerships with private sector and academic institutions

• Internships • Request funds