In partnership with the West Virginia University Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, ORR is proud to host the National Outdoor Recreation Workforce Consortium. The Consortium unites private-sector outdoor recreation interests with leading 2- and 4-year institutions to provide career and technical education for the outdoor recreation workforce. The goal of the Consortium is to better prepare companies, higher education institutions, and the workforce for tomorrow’s outdoor recreation career opportunities.
To share your interest in being involved with the Consortium, email orr@recreationroundtable.org.
Consortium Steering Committee
The $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy generates 5 million American jobs, accounting for 3.1% of all employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. These jobs comprise all roles that help people experience the outdoors, including jobs in the trades, manufacturing, infrastructure design, entrepreneurship, retail, public policy, guiding, technology, and so many more, and offer meaningful career paths across the country.
Yet two primary issues have been identified that inhibit the growth and resilience of this workforce:
- First, the outdoor recreation economy lacks clearly defined workforce development strategies that cross sectors and segments.
- Second, limited channels exist to connect academia with the private sector at consistent intervals to address challenges and opportunities in workforce development.
Read ORR’s Roadmap for a 21st Century Outdoor Workforce
By establishing an Outdoor Recreation Workforce Consortium, first incubated by the Oregon State University Center for the Outdoor Recreation Economy, private interests and academia will benefit from an intentional channel of communication and partnership to address the defining workforce issues of our time, including skill identification and development; career marketing and communications; building an inclusive workforce; and addressing related issues like quality of life and cost of living for recreation professionals. Additionally, the Consortium will collaborate to elevate outdoor workforce development opportunities to federal and state representatives and agencies with the intent to generate new investments in the outdoor workforce.
Proposed Outputs: In its first year, the Outdoor Recreation Workforce Consortium proposes the following:
IN-PERSON GATHERING
The Consortium will host a pre-summit gathering at the 2025 Outdoor Economy Conference in Cherokee, North Carolina.
COLLABORATION
Up to 10 virtual meetings over 16 months for core advisory board to advance the Consortium’s work.
EDUCATION
Organize and promote up to 6 webinars for the broader industry and general public on timely workforce opportunities and examples of exemplary work going on across the country.
COMMUNICATIONS
Identify a mechanism for broader communication between the general public and media on outdoor workforce issues.
DEVELOPMENT
Identify funding opportunities to support this work in the future.
ADVOCACY
Research federal grant funding, appropriations, and other industries’ best practices for workforce development, and potential for in-person and virtual meetings and/or fly-ins to illustrate opportunities to agencies and elected officials (e.g. in Washington, D.C.).
RESEARCH
Develop and deploy an industry-focused workforce survey to be distributed and utilized at the state level.
Check out ORR’s Workforce Hub
