Category: News

San Diego Economic Pulse – September 2019

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Each month the California Employment Development Department (EDD) releases employment data for the prior month. This edition of San Diego’s Economic Pulse covers August 2019. Check out EDC’s research bureau for more data and stats about San Diego’s economy.

This report is sponsored by Manpower San Diego.

  • The region’s unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in August, down from a revised 3.6 percent in July 2019, and below the year-ago estimate of 3.5 percent..
  • The region’s unemployment rate remains lower than both the state and national unemployment rates of 4.2 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively
  • Construction (up 2,900) added the largest number of jobs over the month, with gains centered in speciality trade contractors(up 1,800)
  • Between August 2018 and August 2019, total nonfarm employment increased from 1,485,300 to 1,512,700, adding 27,400 jobs.
  • Government (up 8,400) followed by professional & business services(up 6,600) led job growth during the past year

San Diego launches new initiative to look inward to address regional talent shortages

By Nickie Peña,

Advancing San Diego

In an effort to provide residents with increased access to high-demand jobs, San Diego Regional EDC launched Advancing San Diego, a $3 million local investment initiative underwritten by JPMorgan Chase. The program will align industries with economic development, workforce development and education systems.

“Talented and skilled workers are integral for a strong economy,” said Mark Cafferty, president & CEO at San Diego Regional EDC. “With and through our program partners and stakeholders, we are establishing a first-of-its-kind, employer-led initiative that will measure and aggregate workforce needs while also indentifying solutions that align and strengthen our local education systems. We need to ensure that the benefits of our region’s growing innovation economy are reaching all San Diegans.”

Advancing San Diego will establish nine working groups that are designed to give employers a collective voice about talent needs in priority industries, ranging from software and technology to marketing, healthcare and more. In the first report, 17 participating employers expressed a projected need for more than 7,200 additional software-related positions over the next three years.

The Advancing San Diego initiative
In April 2019, San Diego was one of five cities to receive a $3 million investment as part of JPMorgan Chase’s AdvancingCities Challenge, an initiative to drive inclusive growth and create greater economic opportunity across the U.S. Advancing San Diego is a collaborative program by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the City of San Diego, San Diego Workforce Partnership, United Way of San Diego, and San Diego & Imperial Counties Community College Association (SDICCCA).

As San Diego’s economy continues to expand, employers are seeing an increased demand for skilled workers. While San Diego strives to attract and retain talent, it must also look inward to build a workforce that meets demands for current and future jobs. EDC and its Inclusive Growth Steering Committee of 40 employers have endorsed a regional goal to double the number of skilled workers produced in San Diego County to 20,000 per year by 2030. This requires strong, effective learning programs offered by community colleges and other education institutions.

The goals of Advancing San Diego are to:

  • Engage employers in a structured process to collectively communicate talent needs
  • Identify education programs that are aligned with industry needs
  • Increase the pool of diverse, skilled talent in San Diego
  • Expand access to talent pipelines for small companies

“By 2020, nearly two of every three jobs in the U.S. will require a credential or degree, and currently, 90 percent of our students remain in San Diego after graduation,” said Dr. Sunita “Sunny” Cooke, superintendent & president at MiraCosta Community College District. “Community colleges play a critical role in creating a diverse talent pipeline for the region. The Advancing San Diego program willhelp connect the work occurring within local community colleges to ensure we offer innovative curricula that support employer needs and include opportunities for students to apply their learning in workplace settings so graduates are ready for employment.”

Education systems that are aligned with results set forth by the working groups will be listed as ‘preferred providers’ by Advancing San Diego. This designation rewards higher education students with priority access to work-based learning and engagement opportunities via networking events, career and internship fairs, and local company tours. To learn more and become a ‘preferred provider,’ educators are encouraged to apply at advancingSD.org.

Additionally, businesses with fewer than 100 employees make up 98 percent of San Diego firms, and on average, are challenged to compete with larger employer wages. As part of EDC’s inclusive growth strategy, more than 35 employers (and counting) have endorsed a regional goal to create 50,000 new quality jobs within small businesses by 2030. To further engage small businesses, nearly half of the funding for Advancing San Diego will be used to subsidize internships within small businesses and offer additional services that support student success in the workplace.

“Start-ups like LunaPBC are rich with mission, purpose, and the opportunity for personal and professional growth,” said Dawn Barry, co-founder & president at LunaPBC. “Unlike large employers, startups are often lower on salary, but offer exciting equity and the opportunity to experience first-hand what it’s like to build an enterprise. When large employers work together with smaller employers, and pursue partnerships with incubators and accelerators, higher education and regional development teams, we strengthen our collective visiblity as a region for career development.”

Report: Demand for Software Talent and Criteria for ‘Preferred Providers’
Working group members were asked to provide hiring projections along with skills and competency requirements for critical jobs, in order to identify programs that align with industry needs. Collectively, these results were compiled into the Demand for Software Talent Report and will create a criteria for ‘preferred providers’ of software – a designation by employers that demonstrates an education program is providing adequate training for software engineers.

Companies that contributed to this report represent industries with the highest proportion of software talent in San Diego, including tech, life sciences, healthcare and defense. Based on the participation of 17 employers who collectively employ approximately 53,000 people and share a need for software talent, this report indicates the working group is projected to hire more than 7,220 additional software professionals over three years.

Additional key findings include:

  • Software engineers accounted for the highest future hiring demand among all software occupations in working group companies, making up 53 percent of total projections
  • Entry-level software engineers represent the highest hiring need of any position at any level
  • Collectively, the working group projects they will hire more than 1,700 entry-level software engineers over the next three years
  • Approximately 44 percent of working group employers require a bachelors degree for entry-level software engineers

Through the Advancing San Diego collaboration, San Diego strives to cultivate a more inclusive economy, as this initiative will look inward to address regional talent shortages and strengthen the relationship between employers and education systems.

For more information about the new Advancing San Diego initiative, future working groups, or to be listed as a ‘preferred provider, visit advancingSD.org. Follow along and join the conversation at #advancingSD.

View the full interactive web report—“San Diego’s Demand for Software Talent Report”—here.

San Diego named as one of the nation’s first Naval innovation incubators

By Nickie Peña,

Naval X

San Diego has the largest concentration of military assets in the world. The local defense industry brings in more than $26 million in direct spending and is responsible for approximately 22 percent of all jobs in the region.

With such a significant economic impact and contribution to the region by both military and defense, San Diego was recently selected by the Department of the Navy and NavalX, as one of five U.S. locations to soon house a new innovation incubator model – ‘Tech Bridges.’

During planning stages, the NavalX team spent several months looking at regions across the U.S. that had both the necessary internal ecosystem to support greater innovation among the Department of the Navy as well as strong outside partners – think: academia, state/regional governments and local privately held companies – residing in each location. San Diego also has the foundation in place to connect emerging startups with the Department of the Navy. The additional cities selected to carry out their own form of this innovation platform include Newport, RI; Keyport, WA; Orlando, FL; and Crane, IN.

As the SoCal Tech Bridge gets fully operational and a location is soon selected, the platform will run on a franchise model, allowing San Diego’s diverse innovation ecosystems to fully shine. The goal is focus on connecting ‘non-traditional partners’ to enhance collaboration, in order to meet the growing needs of our region’s Navy and Marine Corps. Defense contractors and growing startups will soon have easier access to resources from the Department of the Navy, made possible by the Tech Bridge.

Naval X

“Earlier this year, the Naval Expeditions (NavalX) office stood up to facilitate rapid adoption of proven agility-enhancing methods across the Department. And today, I’m proud to announce that NavalX in collaboration with our workforce has furthered this effort by creating the first five regional “Tech Bridges” across the country to better connect the DON and the private sector. These five spaces will lower barriers that traditionally hamper external collaboration.”
Mr. James Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition

Based on research conducted by EDC’s research team in 2018, more than 5,600 defense contractors collectively employ more than 62,000 people in San Diego. Plus, defense contractor jobs have grown 6.3 percent over the last three years, and are expected to grow another 9.3 percent over the next year. The future is bright for defense-related jobs in San Diego, and the addition of SoCal Tech Bridge places it on a path to continue fueling innovation and new technologies.

San Diego companies top Fortune’s 2019 Change the World list

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Fortune’s 2019 Change the World

Fortune recently announced its 2019 Change the World list, its annual ranking of companies that are using creative tools of business to meet society’s unmet needs. In today’s world of widening economic disparities and rapid digital automation, it’s critical now, more than ever, for large companies to go beyond checking the boxes of “corporate social responsibility” and actually create solutions for sustainability and inclusive economic growth.

See which San Diego-based companies made this year’s list:

No. 1 Qualcomm: Turning faster connections into green gains
Why Fortune ranked Qualcomm as Number 1 on its 2019 Change the World list: The mobile-chip designer has been a leader in wireless tech since the earliest smartphones. Now it’s building chips for 5G connectivity, which promises speeds 10 to 100 times as fast as those of today’s phones. Already, phonemakers are using Qualcomm modem chips to power 5G-compatible devices. But the company will soon introduce inexpensive, low-power versions for smart devices and sensors that could have a profound impact on the planet. As such sensors become pervasive, cities will be able to monitor air and water quality in real time, farmers can avoid overwatering or overfertilizing crops, and self-driving cars will communicate with each other to avoid traffic jams and reduce emissions.

No. 12 Viasat: Connecting Latin America to the Internet, dirt cheap
Why Fortune ranked Viasat as Number 12 on its 2019 Change the World list: Satellite Internet service provider Viasat has been able to offer cheap online service from space to poorly wired parts of the world as the capabilities of its spacecraft have improved. Since lofting the school-bus-size ViaSat-2 satellite in 2017, the company’s reach has extended across Latin America. In Mexico, for example, a simple $1,500 receiver setup in a local shop can provide Wi-Fi across a wide area for as little as 50¢ an hour to users with cheap phones or tablets. So far, over 600,000 devices have logged on for Internet connections in Mexico. In July the state of São Paulo began working with Viasat to set up community Wi-Fi stations to provide connectivity in 20 underserved areas. Coming next: three ViaSat-3 satellites, with more capacity, reaching Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in 2021 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2022.

No. 35 Illumina: Lifesaving shortcuts in gene testing
Why Fortune ranked Illumina as Number 35 on its 2019 Change the World list: The genomic sequencing giant has managed to spur personalized drug development, help foster a revolution in at-home DNA testing, and even save critically ill newborns. The company has been at the forefront of making whole genomic sequencing not just cheaper (it now costs less than $1,000 to conduct such sequencing, as opposed to the $3 billion it cost to sequence the first full human genome—largely thanks to Illumina’s work over the past 20 years)—but also considerably faster.

That’s absolutely critical when it comes to saving newborns in the ICU suffering from rare genetic disorders, according to Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, the CEO of Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine in San Diego. “Illumina is involved in every step of delivering care for these sick babies,” he says. Kingsmore says that, thanks to Illumina’s technology and dedication to making whole genomic sequencing accessible, affordable, and fast, a critically ill baby can have his or her genome sequenced in as little as 20 hours—which means that child can have personalized treatment delivered within a matter of days rather than weeks, likely spelling the difference between life and death. The Rady Institute has already tested about 1,000 sick newborns with Illumina’s tech in the past three years (about half of them in the past 12 months).

Aira makes Fortune’s “Ones to Watch” list.
Most of the companies on Fortune Magazine’s 2019 Change the World list are large corporations with $1 billion or more in annual revenue, which helps them pay for and scale their efforts. So it created a “Ones to Watch” list, which ranks smaller companies that may not have the  financial means to make significant impacts (yet), but have made technological breakthroughs that can lead to even larger gains and social impact in the future. Featured at the top of this list is San Diego-based Aira.

Why Fortune names Aira on its Ones to Watch list: Aira makes life easier to manage for the visually impaired. The four-year-old start-up offers customers a pair of camera-wielding smart glasses and an app that allows users to connect with Aira agents, who offer verbal assistance while they go about their day—navigating errands or tasks at work. With several thousand users, Aira has evidence that it boosts quality of life and reduces the chances that a blind student will drop out of college, and the company says its technology helped more than 250 visually-impaired users get jobs. The National Federation of the Blind has signed on as a partner.

Check out the full rankings on Fortune’s 2019 Change the World List here.

WTC San Diego & EDC represent the region at SelectUSA

By San Diego Regional EDC,

WTC San Diego & EDC represent the region at SelectUSA

Since 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce hosts its annual SelectUSA Investment Summit, making it the country’s largest trade show for foreign direct investment (FDI). This year, in partnership with the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) International Affairs and Business Development team, WTC San Diego and San Diego Regional EDC staff attended the event to promote California and San Diego.

Garnering more than 2,000 attendees and an impressive slew of speakers, the conference featured keynotes from Secretary Wilbur Ross, Larry Kudlow, and Ivanka Trump, alongside dozens of technical presentations. US Ambassadors from all over the world brought delegations of companies set on expanding into the US from their respective countries to learn about the competitive advantages of each state. At the conference, economic development representatives from nearly all 50 states vie for the attention of these companies by demonstrating why their state is best suited to support international expansion. While some states resort to fun, unique antics like utilizing a Captain America outfit to draw in crowds, the delegates from California drew attention to the immense academic investment and corporate strengths of the fifth largest economy in the world.

In the span of two days, WTC staff met with more than a dozen companies from across the globe – Israel to China and UK to Japan – specifically discussing each country’s interest in San Diego. As states and regions compete to attract foreign investment, increased coordination and collaboration across California is necessary to help combat any negative narratives, and ultimately, highlight the success of the entire state’s economy.

With Bud Colligan as Sr. Advisor for International Affairs and Trade for California, there’s been an increased call for California to develop more robust trade and FDI strategy. According to SelectUSA, majority-foreign-owned companies support 769,20 jobs in California, placing the state in a distant first with Texas coming in second by supporting 596,900 jobs.

If you are interested in WTC San Diego’s approach to creating a statewide strategy for foreign direct investment, contact Director of World Trade Center San Diego, Jesse Gipe at jg@sandiegobusiness.org.

IPP update: Uber to start using drones for its food delivery and more

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Uber to start using drones for its food delivery and more

The Integration Pilot Program (IPP) reached a large benchmark on the food delivery mission, which included a successful test flight with Uber Eats on San Diego State University campus. Starting this summer, Uber will be using specially crafted drones developed by its flight arm, Uber Elevate, to grow the company’s food delivery program. Giving way for Uber Eats to operate in the region’s airspace, San Diego Office of Homeland Security has been integral in this initiative with coordination from EDC, in order to obtain the necessary waivers and certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through the IPP. Read more about this program here.

The IPP is rapidly moving forward on the first-ever international Unamnned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flight, which is made possible in coordination with EDC’s partners at CAPE Aerial Telepresence and the City of Tijuana. The project has also been working diligently with Matternet, the medical delivery operators, to determine the route for the first blood sample test delivery.

Next up: EDC, in partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton, is planning the process for a drone conference, which is slated to take place in February 2020. The themes include San Diego as a center of excellence in the emerging technologies industry, inclusivity, and deep dives into the unique challenges of UAS integration. A planning committee is being formed, involving possible participation from local government partners, local industry leaders, nonprofit stakeholders, and higher education institutions. Expect more details on the conference coming soon.

Providing incentive consulting to Cubic Corporation

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Cubic Corporation

Serving the defense and transportation industries, Cubic Corporation is a global company with clients on nearly every continent. The company has called Kearny Mesa home for 50 years, currently based in an aging set of buildings that have not kept pace with the company’s. Its facilities were divided onto two major campuses in the Kearny Mesa area, creating a lack of cohesion among its business units.

With competition for tech talent at an all-time high, Cubic’s leadership was concerned its outdated facilities would discourage potential hires. Cubic needed to modernize and redevelop its campus to help attract talent, while also providing adequate facilities for the next 50 years. Despite its long history as a San Diego company, Cubic was experiencing pressure to build its headquarters in a lower-cost state such Tennessee, Alabama, orFlorida, where Cubic had other growing operations. As a result, EDC worked hand-in-hand with Cubic’s team to secure the necessary incentives to keep San Diego a competitive option, despite pressure to relocate its facilities out-of-state.

Utilizing both state and local programs, EDC was able to leverage its expertise in incentives consulting in order to help this 50-year-old staple company stay in California. EDC developed a strategy to capture a number of incentive programs, which offset the cost of rebuilding its headquarters in San Diego. Additionally, EDC worked as an intermediary to both the City and State departments on behalf of cubic to ensure processes were staying on track and that the campus redevelopment was seen as a priority by all parties.

Cubic secured a CalCompetes Tax Credit worth $8.5 million. Locally, Cubic was able to secure expedited processes through the City of San Diego, in addition to a Business Incentive Program and Business Cooperation Program award. In total, the incentives and expedited processes provided gave Cubic the necessary offsets and timeline confidence to commit to redeveloping its Kearny Mesa headquarters, and keeping San Diego as its home for decades to follow.

ABOUT CUBIC CORPORATION: Cubic is an American public corporation providing diversified systems and services to the transportation and defense markets worldwide. Cubic Corporation is the parent company of three major divisions: Cubic Transportation Systems, Cubic Mission Solutions and Cubic Global Defense. cubic.com

Real Dog Box provides more treats for its furry friends

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Real Dog Box provides more treats for its furry friends

Real Dog Box, a small startup that manufactures dog treats, was reaching capacity at its current location, and risked closing if they did not find a new warehouse by June 2019. Real Dog Box reached out to EDC asking for assistance in finding a new site under one roof that could accommodate the manufacturing company’s joint operation for light industrial manufacturing and a commercial business.

EDC leveraged its connections and reached out to the City of San Diego’s Economic Development Department for more information and assistance on the specific zoning regulations that the company could use to locate a new site. Using a property selection database, EDC provided a list of potential locations that met Real Dog Box’s requirements for property characteristics and complied with the City’s industrial and commercial zoning regulations.

In May 2019, Real Dog Box was able to re-locate to a new 13,000 sq. ft. site in Barrio Logan within the City of San Diego’s Promise Zone. Thanks to its expansion efforts, Real Dog Box hired three new employees within the first few weeks of moving. In addition to providing a list of potential properties, EDC created a list business resources related to incentive support for the City of San Diego’s Storefront Improvement Program, Business Incentive Program and Business Cooperation Program. EDC also provided additional information on San Diego Workforce Partnership’s programs for On-The-Job-Training, Customized Training and made introductions to CDC Small Business Financing.

“We were in a real pinch to find a new location for our manufacturing facility. EDC helped narrow down our search for properties that fit our needs and their contacts at the city’s zoning office saved us A LOT of time. In our initial meeting with EDC, the team was able to recommend quite a few incentives offered by the city and state specific to our business model and needs that I had never heard of. I wish I’d known sooner what a great resource they are.” -Ruby Alexis Balaram, Founder and COO, Real Dog Box

ABOUT REAL DOG BOX: Real Dog Box was a small startup launched in 2016 transforming the way people feed their dogs. Real Dog Box offers a monthly box of nutritiously diverse dog treats and chews shipped across the U.S. real.dog

Telaeris capitalizes on trade mission with WTC and Port of SD

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Port of Toulon

MetroConnect company Telaeris is a privately-owned San Diego company that develops RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification) and contactless smartcards for businesses. RFIDs and its related products are important contemporary solutions for the efficient management of inventory and assets. RFIDs are also important in tracking the flow of people, as it is one of the basic technologies that make a security badge function.

In September of 2018, Telaeris was selected to be one of 20 participating companies in World Trade Center (WTC) San Diego’s MetroConnect export assistance program. The company received a $10K grant, courtesy of JPMorgan Chase, as well as programmatic support in order to access international markets and boost export sales. Programmatic support included educational workshops, marketing and PR support, and access to preferred rates and discounts with airline and industry partners.

At the beginning of the 2018 program, WTC’s team connected Telaeris to MetroConnect sponsor SYSTRAN, to provide complimentary translation services for the nearly 100,000 lines of code the company needed modified.  Once the company had taken the SYSTRAN software as far as it could go, Telaeris used its $10k in grant funds to pay for expert human translators in Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and more, to polish the code to ready it for market.

In April, the company attended a trade mission to the South of France with the Port of San Diego and WTC San Diego. There, the company was able to market its localized product to French electronic tracking company Coppernic. As a result, Telaeris was able to ink a deal and have eight Coppernic employees (six in Europe; two in Africa) trained to sell Telaeris’ enterprise technology, thereby expanding its sales capability to regions where it had never had a presence before. Additionally, this relationship has led to two potential deals (currently in the works) worth $25K each.

“The MetroConnect program, presented by JPMorgan Chase, has been an amazing catalyst to super-charge the way our company approaches international business development. Our company has been around for 14 years, but with the tools and resources provided through MetroConnect, we are now on track to target many large markets that make up the majority of the world that does not speak English. Capitalizing on these opportunities makes us a more resilient and prosperous company back home.”

– David Carta, CEO & President at Telaeris

Meet our Board: Kim Becker

By San Diego Regional EDC,

Meet our Board: Kim Becker

Meet Kim Becker, President and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Read the Q&A below to learn about Kim and her role in exposing more people to the San Diego experience.

What is your “day job”?

I’m President/CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, which operates San Diego International Airport. We employ about 9,400 people, who serve 24 million passengers per year. The airport provides the first and last impressions our passengers have of San Diego, so it’s our job to make it count, make it memorable, and create good feelings, nonstop.  I’m talking about an on-time arrival. A friendly San Diego smile. Intuitive wayfinding and helpful workers at every turn. Providing an authentic San Diego experience that is professional yet laid-back, efficient yet unhurried; and most of all, open and easy-going.

Of all the boards in San Diego, why EDC?

Both EDC and the Airport Authority are focused on connecting San Diego businesses to the world. So there’s a synergy there that benefits the entire region.

Favorite quote?

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – Anonymous

What has been your life-changing moment? Something that changed the trajectory of your life for the better:

When I was younger, a former boss pushed a large responsibility on me that I felt I wasn’t ready for, nor did I feel that I “lived in that world.” My response was “Who, me?” and the boss said “Yes, you!”  I kept pushing back, all the while doubting my own ability, until my boss finally told me to “Just do it!” And I learned that when I was finally out of excuses, and I started to actually ponder the problem, I was able to rise to the challenge.

Marissa Mayer once said, “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.”

That’s how I live my life today.

What part of EDC interests you most?

I really enjoy the San Diego: Life. Changing. campaign.