Joseph Perera’s Blog

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Today, I’m going to be discussing how the Colorado Aerospace cluster can act as sort of a mentoring cluster to the GTA Aerospace cluster. The Denver Colorado Cluster, being one of the most successful clusters in America, has several unique features that can benefit the GTA cluster.

The following article discusses one of those features, employing private jobs.

“Colorado has total private aerospace employment of 26,650 workers, an increase of 12.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to the report.”

With 26,650 workers, this specific aerospace is ranked 2^nd largest when comparing the cluster with the several other American Aerospace clusters. By employing private workers, this allows the cluster to have well rounded and skilled employees that are attractive in the aerospace industry. Therefore, outsourcing companies and expansion seeking companies look towards clusters who possess these employees. The reason being, because these employees possess knowledge that is entirely focused on that specific cluster, therefore presenting the highest amount of potential towards other companies to take advantage of.

After attracting and aligning with another company, the cluster is able to build a network of highly skilled employees and nurture them towards the growth of that cluster.

“New projects and operations have been fueling the growth of the aerospace industry in Colorado. The United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing rocket operations, started operations in December 2006 and now has about 1,600 employees here, according to the report. Lockheed Martin’s work on an $8.2 billion NASA contract for the Orion crew-exploration vehicle that it won last year also has given the industry a huge boost, with nearly 500 employees here. Another 600 Orion-related jobs could be added in Colorado by 2009, according to the report.”

Just as the above insert from the article describes the benefits on employing private jobs, the GTA aerospace cluster can take advantage of the same concept to fuel its growth.

In turn, doing this can allow the GTA cluster to grow, as well as attract other companies seeking expansion opportunities.

Link: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6937901?source=rss