Employment and Workforce

Workforce

Derby, as part of the Wichita / Sedgwick County metro area, provides access to a highly skilled, available, and best of all, affordable, workforce. Well known as a manufacturing stronghold, Wichita has 21% of employment in manufacturing, almost double the national average. If your company builds anything, we have the workforce for you.

With the region’s highly educated workforce, the Sedgwick County area is a great place for headquarters or back office operations. Wichita is home to many headquarters and service operations, including the headquarters of the nation’s largest privately held company, Koch Industries.

Start your journey here. Kansas is the perfect place for a low cost of living and to do business. Visit the Kansas Department of Commerce to learn more about the Kansas edge.

Connecting Job Seekers with Kansas Employers

The Workforce Centers of South Central Kansas are a one-stop resource for job seekers and employers. At the Workforce Centers job seekers will find the tools and training needed to build a successful career and employers will find help with their hiring, training, or human resources needs. Because many local, state, and federal organizations help provide these valuable services, most are available free of charge. Partnering with KANSASWORKS to grow the talent pipeline in Kansas.

Workforce Development Programs

Several State of Kansas workforce development programs are great resources for some companies. Those programs include: Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) and Kansas Industrial Training (KIT).

Kansas Industrial Retraining

This program provides training assistance to companies in industries that are restructuring due to changing technology and to companies diversifying production activities. Terms are negotiable and cover up to 50% of retraining costs.

Kansas Industrial Training

This program provides training assistance to new or relocating companies as well as existing companies in the process of expansion. KIT is a flexible training program through which the State of Kansas incurs the cost of instructors, books, training materials, etc., for a training program cooperatively designed by the company and the state.

Top 10 Largest Employers in Derby	Product/Service	Employees (FTE)
USD #260	Education	1,163
Walmart, Inc.1	Retail	273
City of Derby	Government	212
Rock Regional Hospital	Healthcare	157
Dillon's	Retail	156
Lowe’s Home Improvement	Retail	119
Derby Recreation Commission	Government	70
El Paso Animal Hospital	Veterinary Services	70
BG Automation, Inc.	Industrial/MFR	64
Glenn Carr House Memory Care	Healthcare	50