The Wichita area workforce has a reputation for productivity and quality as the result of strong training investment. Kansas ranks second in the country in per capita workforce development spending and fourth in the country in gross spending on workforce development. Expansion Management magazine recently ranked Kansas training programs 14th in the nation for ease of access and overall financial value to clients. According to Industry Week magazine (April 2001), Wichita ranks #1 in manufacturing among metro areas with populations under one million, and 13th overall among the top manufacturing cities in the United States. In 2001, Wichita won the Aviation Week Quality Award from Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.

Of metro area residents age 25 and over (394,998 persons), nearly 88% are high school graduates and 27% hold bachelor’s or advanced degrees.

Source: Census Bureau American Community Survey – 2010

Wichita Metro Area had 2010 population of 623,061 persons. Workforce availability is enhanced by the area's healthy population growth. Metro Area population grew by 51,895 persons (9.1%) from 2000 to 2010. It is a relatively young population with 2010 median age of 35.0 years (national median age 37.2 years.) Sedgwick County (pop. 498,365) is the central county of the MSA (80% of MSA population.) Planning Department county population projection is 582,000 in 2035. The 2011 Wichita metro area civilian labor force was 307,648 persons with an unemployment rate of 8.1%, representing about 24,800 persons.

Approximately 5,200 high school graduates are produced annually in Sedgwick County alone. There are over 36,400 college students in the Wichita metro area (about 16,500 are part-time.) These institutions graduate roughly 2,500 bachelor degrees and 1,900 associate degrees annually.

McConnell Air Force Base borders southeast Wichita. Its presence adds about 2,000 spouses of military personnel to the labor pool. The base also produces about 500 local military discharges annually. These discharged personnel offer excellent technical skills in a wide variety of fields. McConnell's mission is secure (primarily aerial refueling.) In November 2005, recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) passed into law. BRAC 2005 increased base personnel by approximately 520 positions, making McConnell AFB the largest "super tanker base" in the United States.

Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development & Business Research conducted an extensive 2007 survey of the South Central Kansas regional workforce. It contains extensive data on availability and skills of the Available Labor Pool (ALP) – which includes both currently employed and unemployed persons.