PRIORITY SECTORS

The Agri-business industry cluster includes establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats, support activities for crop and animal production, and processing of food and beverages. This sector distinguishes three basic activities: agricultural production, agricultural support activities, and value-added agriculture. Agricultural production includes establishments performing the complete farm or ranch operation, such as farm owner-operators and tenant farm operators. Agricultural support activities include establishments that perform one or more activities associated with farm operation, such as soil preparation, planting, harvesting, and management, on a contract or fee basis.

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The Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County is focusing on the economic benefits of value-added agriculture. Defined as the transformation of agricultural products to a higher value for the end consumer, examples can be seen when carrots are processed into smaller, “baby” carrots, or used in the production of vegetable juice and when grapes are turned into wine. Excluded from the Agri-business sector are establishments primarily engaged in agricultural research and establishments primarily engaged in administering programs for regulating and conserving land, mineral, wildlife, and forest use.

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The Construction industry cluster consists of builders of mechanical systems such as electrical, heating, and water; specialty trades outfits such as drywall, flooring, and painting contractors; residential and commercial builders; and contractors who complete foundation and framing work.

This sector distinguishes three basic activities:

Establishments primarily engaged in contracts that include responsibility for all aspects of individual construction projects are commonly known as general contractors, but also may be known as design-builders, construction managers, turnkey contractors, or (in cases where two or more establishments jointly secure a general contract) joint-venture contractors. Construction managers that provide oversight and scheduling only (i.e., agency), as well as construction managers that are responsible for the entire project (i.e., at risk), are included as general contractor type establishments. Establishments of the "general contractor type" frequently arrange construction of separate parts of their projects through subcontracts with other construction establishments. Establishments primarily engaged in activities to produce a specific component (e.g., masonry, painting, and electrical work) of a construction project are commonly known as specialty trade contractors. Activities of specialty trade contractors are usually subcontracted from other construction establishments, but especially in remodeling and repair construction, the work may be done directly for the owner of the property.

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Establishments primarily engaged in activities to construct buildings to be sold on sites that they own are known as for-sale builders, but also may be known as speculative builders or merchant builders. For-sale builders produce buildings in a manner similar to general contractors, but their production processes also include site acquisition and securing of financial backing. For-sale builders are most often associated with the construction of residential buildings. Like general contractors, they may subcontract all or part of the actual construction work on their buildings.

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It is challenging to find both a consistent definition of the Energy industry cluster “value chain” in terms of component groups of industries, and to identify the NAICS codes that comprise the cluster. This is in part because Energy is a rapidly evolving cluster and there are not yet specific NAICS codes for some of the industries, especially in the
production of renewable energies.

The Healthcare industry cluster includes acute care and outpatient hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers, adult daycare centers, and community service agencies for the elderly.

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This sector includes all of these components because it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the boundaries of these activities. The industries in this sector are arranged on a continuum starting with establishments providing medical care exclusively, continuing with those providing health care and social assistance, and finally finishing with those providing only social assistance. Establishments in this sector deliver services by trained professionals. All industries in the sector share this commonality of process, namely, labor inputs of health practitioners or social workers with the requisite expertise. Many of the industries in the sector are defined based on the educational degree held by the practitioners included in the industry. Excluded from this sector are aerobic classes, Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries, and non-medical diet and weight reducing centers, Personal and Laundry Services. Although these can be viewed as health services, these services are not typically delivered by health practitioners.

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The Transportation and Logistics industry cluster is made up of interrelated sub-industries such as refrigerated warehousing, self-storage facilities, freight transporting companies, and overnight delivery businesses.

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Many of the establishments in this sector often operate on networks, with physical facilities, labor forces, and equipment spread over an extensive geographic area.

Warehousing establishments in this sector are distinguished from merchant wholesaling in that the warehouse establishments do not sell the goods.

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Excluded from this sector are establishments primarily engaged in providing travel agent services that support transportation and other establishments, such as hotels, businesses, and government agencies. Also, establishments primarily engaged in providing rental and leasing of transportation equipment without operators.

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The Advanced Manufacturing industry cluster is a lynchpin cluster in that it is a component of virtually all of the other regional clusters in addition to other “diversified” manufacturing companies.

Establishments in the Manufacturing sector are often described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power-driven machines and material handling equipment. However, establishments that transform materials or substances into new products by hand or in the worker's home and those engaged in selling to the general public products made on the same premises from which they are sold, such as bakeries, candy stores, and custom tailors, may also be included in this sector. Manufacturing establishments may process materials or may contract with other establishments to process their materials for them. Both types of establishments are included in manufacturing.

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The materials, substances, or components transformed by manufacturing establishments are raw materials that are products of agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, or quarrying as well as products of other manufacturing establishments. The materials used may be purchased directly from producers, obtained through customary trade channels, or secured without recourse to the market by transferring the product from one establishment to another, under the same ownership.

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