Butte / Chico Manufacturing Sector Partnership Brief
How the scorecard works + component scores
Partnership Opportunity and Organizing Readiness use weighted 0–4 evidence dimensions converted to 0–100. 75–100 = High, 55–74 = Moderate, below 55 = Low.
Evidence Confidence: A = direct/current/authoritative; B = strong evidence with limited caveats; C = directional/proxy evidence with important limitations; D = weak, stale or poorly aligned; U = insufficient. The grade describes the evidence, not the sector.
Host Fit separately assesses backbone suitability across industry credibility, convening power, neutrality, staffing/resilience, worker/community connection, education/workforce integration, regional reach and fiscal/administrative capacity. It does not grant employer-governance authority.
Funding durability is a qualitative status, not another score. Screen 0 tests multi-employer structure, a shared workforce problem, collective-action leverage and Worker Value; a high numeric score never overrides a failed or materially unresolved gate.
Use GMI as the existing employer-led table and focus on measurable technical progression, internship-to-hire conversion and durable employer ownership rather than a relaunch.
Why this case matters
Butte manufacturers share skilled-labor, supplier, training and technology-adoption needs. GMI already provides an employer network, while Butte College now has current advanced-manufacturing and engineering-support pathways with embedded work experience. Collective action adds value by connecting those assets to the same employer-defined technical jobs and progression outcomes.
Worker value
The local single-adult living-wage benchmark used in the canonical case is $24.06/hour. Industrial maintenance and production-supervision roles clear it, while machinist pay sits below it. Worker Value therefore depends on progression into higher-skill technical and supervisory careers, not manufacturing participation alone.
The education system already includes local-company work experience.
Butte College's 2026–27 Advanced Manufacturing pathway includes ERP, robotic welding, 3D modeling, a 4-unit Internship with Local Trade Company and a 4-unit Advanced Internship with Local Trade Company. A newer Engineering Support Technician certificate also includes built-in work experience. The partnership's next proof point is whether manufacturers jointly convert that capacity into hires and advancement.
FAME USA
FAME's current national network includes 46+ chapters and 500+ company partners. Graduates complete more than 1,800 hours of paid on-the-job training, and FAME reports roughly 95% employment placement. The transferable feature is manufacturer co-ownership of a shared technical pathway with measurable conversion into employment.
What a WDB or regional convener could do next
The sequence is staged so the partnership becomes more formal only as shared employer action and worker value become more concrete.