Fresno (CA) Trade Schools, Vocational Schools

Where Fresno's Trade Schools Can Take You

Situated in the heart of California's San Joaquin Valley, Fresno is the fifth largest city in the state, with a population of 495,913. Because of its location and climate, Fresno is ideally suited for a variety of industries that should experience job growth in the coming years, making it a great place for graduates of trade schools and vocational training programs to begin their careers.

One in three jobs in the Fresno area is agriculturally based and Fresno County, CA is the number one county for agriculture in the nation. Among non-agricultural jobs, those industries employing the largest numbers of people include:

• Trade, transportation, and utilities: 55,800
• Government: 66,400
• Education and health services: 35,400.

The Future of Fresno

Fresno's economic development authorities are working to diversify the city's economy, and have identified several industry clusters as growing. Among these are:

• Green jobs: Roughly 89,000 jobs are expected to be created by 2020, thanks to CA Assembly Bill 32. These jobs include energy generation, efficiency, and storage, transportation, water and wastewater, advanced manufacturing, recycling and waste, and agricultural technology.
• Transportation: With its central location, Fresno is ideal for distribution of goods and as a hub for the proposed California high-speed rail system. Roughly 200 trucking companies are located in Fresno County, and the nation's largest parcel carriers, FedEx, UPS, and DHL all operate from here.

With a mean annual household income of $39,920 and a cost of living that's much lower than most of California, Fresno is poised for growth. Graduates of the area's trade schools and technical schools may just find they're poised for growth here, too.