Occupation Growth Projections in Texas through 2018

Is UHV positioned to meet the future needs of employment growth in the state of Texas?  Are there opportunities to grow the university by aligning employment growth with UHV degree offerings? 

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Outlook Projection for 2008-2018 helps shed some light on these critical questions.

According to the BLS, “The analysis underlying BLS employment projections uses currently available information to focus on long-term structural changes in the economy. The 2008-18 projections assume a full-employment economy in 2018. The impact of the recent recession, which began in December of 2007, on long-term structural changes in the economy will not be fully known until some point during or after the recovery. Because the 2008 starting point is a recession year, the projected growth to an assumed full-employment economy in 2018 will generally be stronger than if the starting point were not a recession year.”

A review of the occupation and wages projections in the Texas labor market shows significant findings and areas of opportunity for UHV. Examination of concurrent and future top careers with the most growth shows that UHV already offers many undergraduate programs that help meet the needs of the growing labor force for jobs that require a bachelor’s degree.

Significant Findings:

• Jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree and above make up 26.5 percent of the job growth (528,970) in Texas through 2018.
• Of the top 25 occupations that require a bachelor's degree, engineering careers make up 4.5 percent of the growth (13,380) through 2018.
• The median annual wage ($74,537) for the top 25 jobs in Texas through 2018 that require a bachelor’s degree or above is nearly double the median annual wage ($36,785) for the top 25 jobs that require education or training below a bachelor’s degree (based on 2009 wages).
• UHV offers degree programs for 19 (76 percent) of the top 25 occupations that require a bachelor’s degree.
• UHV has the opportunity to add degree offerings that would be among the top 25 occupations that require a bachelor’s degree.

For a complete review/table with the top 25 occupations with a bachelor’s degree as the most significant source of training, and the most absolute change-increase projected in 2018, including wages, average annual job openings and projected number of state jobs, see Top 25 Texas Occupations 2008-2018 That Require a Bachelor's Degree.

Opportunities

Potential opportunities for UHV program expansion are among the top 25 Texas occupations that require a bachelor’s degree.  Opportunities exist in adding programs to the School of Business Administration and to the School of Arts & Sciences.

Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development

Adding Human Resource (HR) programs in the School of Business Administration that specifically address the needs for HR management and HR development positions may attract more students to UHV. Offering bachelor’s degrees with an HR focus would help fill a total of 8,620 projected job openings in Texas through 2018. The BLS reports in the 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook that “many universities do not offer degree programs in personnel administration, human resources or labor relations until the graduate level.”

Ten universities in Texas offer bachelor’s degree programs in HR management or HR development.

Construction Management and Construction Science

Another program opportunity that could be explored is in the School of Arts and Sciences. Offering a Bachelor of Science in construction management or construction science would help fill a total of 20,950 projected job openings through 2018.

Employment of construction workers is sensitive to the fluctuations of the economy. However, according to the BLS 2008-2018 Monthly Labor Review, November 2009 (updated Dec.3, 2010), the following influences will create growth and increase postsecondary education needs across the country:

• Faster-than-average growth for all construction occupations is projected from 2008 to 2018, with a 25 percent increase for cost estimators and a 17 percent increase for construction managers.
• Employers increasingly are hiring specialized construction managers with a bachelor’s degree, and certification is becoming more important due to the increasing complexity of construction processes.
• Shortages may occur during peak periods of building activity.  
• There is an increasing need to replace portions of the nation’s infrastructure (highways, bridges, water and sewage systems, energy supply lines and subway systems).
• A growing emphasis on making buildings more energy efficient will impact construction. 
• Modest population and business growth will create new and renovated construction.
• Texas reported the highest concentration of construction managers of all the states with 2.722 workers per thousand. (Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2009, state profile)

Eight universities in Texas offer construction bachelor’s programs in construction science, construction management, industrial technology-construction management, or construction science and management.

Adding degree plans in human resource management and construction management would position UHV to offer programs in 23 (92 percent) of the top 25 careers that require a bachelor’s degree in Texas through 2018.   

Sources:  THECB, Texas Workforce Commission – Texas Labor Market Information Tracer (Texas Long-Term Occupation Projections 10/28/10), and BLS (Occupational Employment Statistics and Employment Outlook: 2008-18, Monthly Labor Review November 2009, updated Dec. 3, 2010).