Manufacturing Month is a time to celebrate the industry’s impact and to inspire the next generation of skilled workers to grow their careers in modern manufacturing. With its highly-skilled workforce, robust training programs, and close proximity to Mexico, San Diego is a hub for advanced manufacturing, with nearly 3,583 firms currently supporting more than 114,000 jobs across the region.
Manufacturing in San Diego
By 2023, the U.S. will need to fill four million manufacturing jobs—a demand San Diego is particularly well-positioned to help meet. Between 2017 and 2021, San Diego’s manufacturing employment grew 5.5 percent compared to a nation-wide decrease of 0.9 percent. Even California experienced a net loss of overall manufacturing jobs during that same period (-2.0 percent).
The industry’s continued growth through the pandemic is driven by the resilient and advanced nature of San Diego’s manufacturing base, which uses innovative technology to improve products or processes. From craft beer to virtual reality technology, to shipbuilding and life-saving pharmaceuticals, manufacturing has long been a pillar of the region’s economy, with impact spanning far beyond San Diego.
Find manufacturing talent and jobs
Looking to build your manufacturing team? Advancing San Diego’s Preferred Providers of manufacturing talent is a great place to start. Preferred Providers are vetted education programs recognized by employers as delivering top-quality training for high-demand jobs across San Diego. Contact the Advancing San Diego team to get connected.
For seasoned manufacturing professionals looking for new opportunities, visit San Diego: Life. Changing.’s job board to explore open roles at some of San Diego’s top employers. And, sign up to receive some of San Diego’s coolest jobs delivered to you monthly through its newsletter, The Lead.
Grow your company
California’s Manufacturing Network (CMN), formed and led by CMTC, provides services exclusively to small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) throughout California. The Network is a collaboration of more than 25 manufacturing-focused partners that deliver a broad range of technical assistance services to SMMs in both urban and rural areas. The Network’s mission is to generate a positive financial impact for manufacturers and the California economy.
Receive free to low-cost services through CMTC including supplier scouting services, accelerator programs, and general assistance.
Plus, contact the EDC team to get connected to the resources you need to thrive in San Diego, from strategic partnerships, to site expansion and selection services.
Data collected from Lightcast 2022 unless otherwise cited.
San Diego’s healthcare providers face numerous challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Faced with a global pandemic, now more than ever healthcare providers are seeing higher-than-average turnover rates for essential roles like medical assistants. Additionally, many companies have fewer connections to top, preferred providers of healthcare talent in the region.
Made possible by JPMorgan Chase, Advancing San Diego is a demand-driven strategy to address talent shortages and remove barriers for small and not-for profit companies to access qualified workers through a variety of services including its internship program. After a competitive application process, Rady Children’s Hospital was selected to host six paid ASD healthcare interns from top Preferred Provider training programs, at no cost.
ASD provided a competitive wage and stipend, as well as access to a vetted pool of diverse medical assistants. Rady also had the opportunity to work with ASD’s staffing partner, Manpower San Diego, which administered the interview process, administrative HR tasks, payroll, and more.
RESULT
As a result of EDC’s ASD program, Rady was able to skip the challenges of talent sourcing and dive straight into building camaraderie with their new interns and the Preferred Provider programs in which they came from. At the close of the internship, Rady Children’s Hospital hired all six students full-time—opening a door of social mobility for underrepresented talent in essential roles.
The program also helped relieve budgetary constraints by saving Rady thousands in payroll, overhead, and talent sourcing expenses.
“Advancing San Diego has helped us tap into diverse talent highly-prepared for the clinical hours we require. EDC’s program helped us establish better relationships with local education programs and introduced us to six skilled medical assistants who we’re excited to bring on full-time.”
-Jenna Martin, Strategic Business Project Manager, Rady Children’s Hospital
September 15 kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States—a time to honor and celebrate the diverse cultures, rich heritage, and endless contributions of Latinx and Hispanic people in our country.
As a binational region, this community has long shaped, built, and led San Diego. And in observance of the month, we’ve compiled just a few of the many programs helping Latinx professionals thrive and climb in San Diego.
MAAC
MAAC helps local families achieve self-sufficiency through its pathways of service—advocacy and leadership development, economic development, education, health and wellbeing, and housing. The nonprofit offers multiple high-quality programs like its Unidos in Finance program to help kickstart your career in financial services with online training and job placement assistance.
Explore MAAC’s full menu of services and save the date for its upcoming Soirée.
MANA de San Diego
MANA de San Diego is part of a National Latina Organization that serves to empower Latinas through education, leadership development, community service, and advocacy. Its four-month Latina Success Leadership Program takes aim at the glass ceiling and addresses the problem of under-representation of Latinas in leadership roles through a series of sessions focused on leadership development, building resiliency, and increasing civic engagement.
Learn more about the program and stay tuned for the announcement of its next cohort’s application round in January 2023. And, if you’re a Latina in business, join MANA de San Diego for its Latina Success Conference in October.
SD2
Interested in a STEM career? San Diego Squared (SD2) focuses on helping underrepresented students enter careers in STEM by providing access to education, mentorship, and resources they need to thrive. Made possible through partnerships with San Diego companies like Illumina and Neurocrine Biosciences, SD2 connects educators and high school and college students to funding.
Explore its funding opportunities and check out its STEM Capsules for a series of inspiring videos highlighting BIPOC STEM professionals’ stories and advice for you.
San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
As San Diego’s largest business association representing the Hispanic community with over 500 members, San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s events and programs are a perfect way to grow your network and market your business.
Want to start your business and don’t know where to start? Connect with like-minded individuals at the Chamber’s monthly Cafecito and networking events with Latino business owners and leaders.
How can you support Latinx San Diegans?
Learning about Hispanic heritage, amplifying diverse stories and voices, and shopping at Latinx-owned businesses are just some of the many ways we can support all year round. This month and every month, we celebrate the accomplishments, resiliency, innovation, and leadership of San Diego’s Hispanic and Latinx community.
As of May 2022, there were 75,630 unique jobs posted in San Diego County, but only 42,100 unemployed San Diegans. Couple this talent shortage with unrealistic demands around compensation, benefits, and remote work, it’s fair to say we are living the most competitive battle for talent yet.
To meet employer demand, our region needs to double the number of post-secondary degree, certificate, or program completions per year. In particular, investing in Black and Hispanic youth would turn San Diego’s talent shortage into a surplus. More on Inclusive Growth here.
As part of our ongoing talent development efforts, EDC has compiled an ongoing hub of programs and initiatives below to help you fill your high-demand San Diego roles. Sign up for the talent newsletter for ongoing opportunities to participate in the development of our talent pipeline.
HIRE TALENT
Build relationships with Advancing San Diego’s Preferred Providers of talent at Preferred Provider Meet and Greet: IT & Cybersecurity, hosted by EDC, San Diego Workforce Partnership, and CCOE. Join us Wednesday November 9, 4:00 – 6:00 pm, at UC Park and Market. → Register here.
Connect with entry-level cybersecurity or IT talent at EDC and Tech San Diego’s Tech Career Night: Industry Interactive. Join us Tuesday November 15, 4:00 – 6:00 pm, at San Diego State University. →Reach out to Andrea Crisantes at acs@sandiegobusiness.org
Promote your open mid-level roles in San Diego: Life. Changing.‘s monthly job newsletter, The Lead, sent to over 3K STEM and business talent in San Diego and other competitor metros. → Submit your role to communications@sandiegobusiness.org for consideration.
Connect with entry-level software, engineering, business, and other San Diego talent: Use Advancing San Diego’s Preferred Provider map to identify industry-recognized training programs. → Sign up for email updates to learn about upcoming opportunities to connect.
Connect with San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) to learn about worker training services. As workflows shift and skill requirements change, SDWP helps employers retain their existing workforce to meet their evolving needs. → Learn about SDWP’s layoff aversion help and no-cost worker training.
Connect with San Diego’s K-12 population early to communicate the breadth of career opportunities and build a more inclusive economy. Engage students at the K-12 level via:
Through two rounds of competitive application processes, the following education providers have been designated Preferred Providers of Cybersecurity and IT Talent, recognition from industry for their work in most effectively training the entry-level local workforce:
Through the CyberHire program, participants enrolled in the Preferred Provider programs receive industry-verified certification in A+ and Network+ or Security+ along with career counseling and wrap-around services from the San Diego Workforce Partnership.
If you are a San Diego business interested in hiring CyberHire participants to fill your entry-level IT and Cybersecurity roles,contact us. Through funding provided by the James Irvine Foundation, the San Diego Workforce Partnership will:
Place program participants in paid internships.
Subsidize wages for on-the-job training.
Host events for employers to meet CyberHire participants and showcase career opportunities at their companies.
About CyberHire: Presented by The James Irvine Foundation, CyberHire aims to transition unemployed, underemployed, and low-wage workers to quality Cybersecurity careers. CyberHire will help San Diegans launch a meaningful career that allows them to support themselves and their families.
Source your science talent from these edu programs…
Fueled by industries like Tech, Defense, and Life Sciences, San Diego’s innovation economy relies on a pipeline of diverse talent. However, local companies continue to cite access to quality talent as a persistent and growing challenge. Ninety-eight percent of firms in San Diego are small companies (<100 employees) that often lack time and resources to effectively compete for talent with their larger counterparts. Meanwhile, many San Diegans are disconnected from high-demand job opportunities, largely due to education requirements.
Over the last six months, Advancing San Diego partners worked with a group of 22 employers to develop skills-based criteria for Lab Technicians (aka Research Assistants). We asked that any education provider meeting that criteria apply for the Preferred Provider designation. An employer-led review panel then evaluated these applicants against the skills criteria to determine which programs should be designated as ‘Preferred Providers,’ recognized as those most effectively preparing individuals for jobs and internships as Lab Technicians.
EDC is eager to announce Preferred Providers of Life Sciences Talent:
Advancing San Diego will select up to 20 high-growth Life Sciences companies in the region to host paid Lab Technician/Research Assistant interns, sourced from the above Preferred Provider programs, at no cost to the business. Selected companies will be asked to host two interns for 240 hours each during the Summer 2022. Interns will be paid through Advancing San Diego, and have access to additional funds to support their success in the workplace. Apply here—applications close February 14.
Now in its sixth round, Advancing San Diego (ASD) addresses skilled talent shortages and increases diversity in high-growth, high-demand jobs. A program of EDC and key community partners, ASD leads employer collaboratives that recognize local training programs most effectively preparing San Diegans for quality jobs; pairing students of those programs with local employers for paid internships; and strengthening community partnerships to power San Diego’s talent pipeline of tomorrow.
To help students build meaningful careers in local, high-demand jobs in key industries, ASD welcomed its Business and Manufacturing cohorts this year, pairing 48 student interns with 25 small companies, of which 19 were woman-, person of color-, veteran-, or disabled-owned. All of the 48 student interns were considered priority students, meaning they identified with a historically under-resourced population, are a first generation or community college student, or currently live or went to high school in a low income neighborhood of San Diego.
ASD is currently convening employers from the Healthcare industry and has recognized seven programs as Preferred Providers for their work in training Medical Assistants. Students from those programs will be placed in internships beginning in early 2022. See the full network of Preferred Providers here.
Advancing San Diego by the numbers, 2021
48
student interns placed
25
small companies paired with high-demand talent
99
job applications submitted on Career Exploration Day
A core part of this work includes direct collaboration with industry. ASD convened six working groups made up of industry leaders from San Diego companies including Northrop Grumman, Rady Children’s Hospital, and Takeda, among others, who together shared the most-needed roles in their firms by sector. Each of their findings were summarized in the talent demand reports below:
World Trade Center San Diego (WTCSD), an affiliate of San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), cultivates a pipeline of export-ready firms, maximizes foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities, and enhances San Diego’s global identity. A globally-connected economy creates quality jobs and makes the San Diego region more prosperous, competitive, and resilient – especially crucial amid COVID-19 and its aftershocks.
As we look toward 2022, here are four key ways WTCSD helped make San Diego a more globally competitive, resilient region:
1. MetroConnect V helps companies go global, awards fifth winner
2021 was an exciting year for WTCSD’s MetroConnect export accelerator program as the fifth cohort of incredible small to mid-sized San Diego companies wrapped up participation in the program.
These companies received $5,000 grants to bolster their export initiatives and international expansion efforts. Amid a pandemic, companies needed more digital support services than ever to help navigate growing e-commerce needs during the pandemic. To support, WTCSD held a Digital Trade Series, which assessed each client’s needs and arranged one-on-one counseling sessions with contracted e-commerce experts.
Over the course of the program, one company stood out – with MetroConnect’s support, satellite-based communications and fleet management company Blue Sky Network generated a 36 percent increase in monthly recurring revenue in Brazil, as well as its largest order to date. To support this growth, the company hired seven new full-time employees. Ultimately, WTCSD crowned Blue Sky Network MetroConnect V’s winner and awarded it a $25,000 grant toward its international expansion goals.
Over the past five years of MetroConnect, 80 companies collectively leveraged $890,000 in export grants, resulting in a $95 millionnet increase in exports from the San Diego region.
2. WTCSD debuts a regional trade and investment strategy for 2025
In 2015, San Diego Regional EDC’s release of “Go Global: San Diego’s Trade and Investment Initiative,” launched the World Trade Center in San Diego, bringing regional companies and stakeholders together with a global vision. Throughout 2020 and early 2021, WTC engaged many of the same partners, and new ones, in an effort to gauge how the region measured up to it, more than five years later. This 2021 update analyzed the state of exports, foreign investment and VC, as well as the extraordinary impact of COVID. Through rigorous data analysis dozens of interviews with public and private-sector leaders, WTC synthesized a set of five key priorities the region should focus on over the next five years. Find out what they are here. Key findings include:
2020 saw $3 billion in foreign investment into San Diego
73 percent of investment into San Diego is in Life Sciences
San Diego exports $22 billion in goods each year
San Diego is a top 10 services exporter among U.S. metros
Heading into 2022, we expect to see FDI investment portfolios return to the same levels seen in 2019.
3. Export Small Business Development Center (SBDC) supports export and COVID-relief projects
Beyond MetroConnect, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at WTCSD provided 35 export-ready small companies with the support needed to navigate international goals, including exports, manufacturing support, and more.
In addition to expansion support, the Export Specialty Center continued to offer COVID-19 recovery resources at no cost, helping San Diego companies like Funki Adventures apply to Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) 2nd Draw, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and City and County small business grants.
Finally, the Global Readiness Program saw a partnership between WTCSD and the University of San Diego help local small to mid-sized businesses secure STEP grants to grow the regional export pipeline.
4. WTCSD serves as a key source of market intelligence
WTCSD conducted a series of business surveys to better inform decision making of regional partners and affiliates. These included:
Corporate Travel Survey:
Survey of 12 large businesses and two non-profits in the region to better understand travel and budgets forecasts for the year ahead. This information was critical for the retention of existing service out of SAN and for the attraction of future direct flights. It found:
79 percent of respondents are willing to pay a premium to fly on a San Diego nonstop route versus flying out from Tijuana or Los Angeles
56 percent of respondents expressed a desire for nonstop service to Mexico City and Sao Paulo
EDC Changing Business Landscape Survey:
Survey of more than 100 business in the San Diego region, aimed at informing long-term development priorities, across business areas. It found:
14 percent of respondents currently import and/or export out of the Port of San Diego
24 percent of those surveyed would be interested in using the Port of San Diego if they provided service to the types of goods they ship
Consider Tijuana, Mexico. Our binational region, which includes San Diego County, Imperial County, and the Mexican State of Baja California, is home to more than 7.1 million people – and specializes in high-value goods and services.
San Diego and Tijuana jointly host some of the world’s strongest innovation clusters, including the world’s largest medical device cluster (Trade and Competitiveness in North America, 2018), due in part to significant foreign direct investment from global firms that often co-locate on both sides of the border. Firms like Thermo Fisher Scientific are already leveraging all our binational region has to offer, including specialized production processes and highly-skilled workers.
Who should consider leveraging cross-border talent?
Companies that are:
Considering outsourcing talent outside of San Diego
Currently outsourcing talent but looking to build a geographically closer team
Cost-conscious but looking to expand
Small to mid-sized and struggling to compete in the battle for talent.
can all benefit from leveraging talent in both San Diego and Tijuana.
Why consider cross-border talent?
Tijuana’s proximity to San Diego makes it a strong strategic choice for talent and business partnership, especially for remote and hybrid teams.
First, compared to working with talent around the world, there can be fewer limitations when your company leverages talent in Tijuana – whether visa-related or otherwise. For regional innovation companies like those in the life sciences cluster, too, the ability to transport samples between San Diego and Tijuana teams is much simpler and quicker than other international options.
And when it comes to culture and oversight, Tijuana is just 20 minutes south of San Diego, allowing management to provide more direct support via easy day trips to Tijuana teams and offices. Because Tijuana is in the same time zone as San Diego, teams can enjoy easier collaboration and culture-building every day – whether or not companies remain remote or consider returning to on-site work.
Who can help me?
If leveraging Tijuana talent can help your company but you’re not sure where to begin, there are a number of programs and partners that may be able to support or help fund your cross-border talent search.
If your company is based in San Diego and looking for general or tech talent, contact World Trade Center San Diego to get started.
If your company is based in Tijuana and looking for tech talent, contact ITJuana to get started.
If your company is based in Tijuana and looking for general or tech talent, contact Tijuana EDC to get started.
Interested in growing your business internationally?
World Trade Center San Diego, home of the Export Specialty Small Business Development Center (SBDC), works directly with companies – free of charge – to help them expand internationally and grow in San Diego. Whether your small company is interested in learning about exporting and international growth, or your small or medium-sized company is ready to export and grow internationally, World Trade Center San Diego is here to help.
Meet the Preferred Providers of Healthcare Talent.
Fueled by Tech, Defense, and Life Science industries, San Diego’s innovation economy relies on a pipeline of diverse talent. However, local companies continue to cite access to quality talent as a persistent challenge–98 percent of firms in San Diego are small companies (<100 employees) that often lack time and resources to effectively compete for talent with their larger counterparts. Meanwhile, many San Diegans are disconnected from high-demand job opportunities in Healthcare, largely due to education requirements.
Over the last six months, Advancing San Diego partners worked with a group of seven employers to develop a skills-based criteria for medical assistants. We asked that any education provider meeting that criteria apply for the Preferred Provider designation. An employer-led review panel then evaluated these applicants against the skills criteria to determine which programs should be designated as ‘Preferred Providers,’ recognized as those most effectively preparing individuals for jobs and internships as medical assistants.
EDC is excited to announce Preferred Providers of Healthcare Talent:
Advancing San Diego will cover the cost of internships for 30 students, sourced from the above Preferred Provider, at small clinics, doctor’s offices, and other medical facilities in the region. Selected interns will be paid and have access to additional funds to support their success in the workplace. All students from Preferred Provider programs will be invited to participate in industry engagement opportunities such as career fairs and networking events. Healthcare internships will begin in early 2022.
How education programs can get involved:
Advancing San Diego will continue to designate Preferred Providers in a variety of high-demand fields. Preferred Provider criteria and applications are updated and reviewed on an annual basis. The Preferred Provider application schedule is as follows:
