To celebrate and inspire the efforts of regional employers, EDC’s new Inclusive Growth blog series will highlight San Diego companies and organizations helping to drive progress toward the 2030 Inclusive Growth goals. This blog features San Diego nonprofit service provider SBCS (formerly South Bay Community Services).
Launched in 2018 and informed by a partnership with the Brookings Institution, the Inclusive Growth initiative sets 2030 goals for San Diego related to increasing: 1) the supply of talent, 2) quality small business jobs, and 3) newly thriving households. The goals inform San Diego’s economic priorities and make the business case for economic inclusion.
Regional talent demand remains high
To maintain economic competitiveness, the region needs 20,000 students per year completing post-secondary education within six years of graduating high school. These include certifications, career technical education, and college degrees. Progress toward the goal has increased incrementally since 2017 yet completions have shown signs of tapering; the region still falls short of the goal; and the local supply of talent continues to be a critical priority for San Diego employers.
Talent scarcity has become the new normal as hiring demand exceeds the supply of talent across industries. Compounding this challenge, student success is demographically uneven in the San Diego region. Despite making up 35 percent of the population, Hispanics and Latinos only account for 17 percent of residents over 25 years old with at least a bachelor’s degree. Critical to growing the local talent pool will be creating more opportunities for Black and Latino students to succeed locally. Employer-led talent pipeline development efforts are critical to the future of San Diego’s economy and SBCS is among those working toward a solution.
SBCS transforms communities to support the well-being and prosperity of children, youth, and families throughout San Diego County.
Recognized as a trusted leader in the region for more than 50 years, SBCS takes on San Diego’s toughest challenges with unwavering commitment to create lasting sustainable change. SBCS reaches more than 50,000 residents each year with widescale high-impact services proven to reduce homelessness, improve educational outcomes, advance economic mobility, and improve community safety.
SBCS College-Bound Youth
Understanding the opportunity gap
For young people from low-income communities, a lack of access to quality education, professional mentors, and financial resources will often lead to limited career opportunities in adulthood. Minimum wage jobs are often the only ones available—and can leave youth unable to cover the cost of even their most basic needs, especially in a high-cost region.
SBCS is closing the opportunity gap by paying youth a living wage while they gain hands-on experience in industries that foster long-term career growth and financial success.
For those ready to enter the workforce, paid technical training with local companies and industry-recognized certifications pave the way for stable, well-paying careers. After completing six-weeks of training with SBCS youth Pedro was hired as a full-time fiber optics technician at a competitive salary.
“Pedro wants to be here—he’s learning, he’s growing. Big picture, where he’s going to be in five or 10 years…it’s going be awesome for him to look back on where he started.” —Justin Baldwin, Director of Construction, Wyyred
For college-bound youth, paid professional internships provide vital income while students continue their education and support their families. After transferring from Southwestern College to UCLA, Jamie worked with SBCS to secure a paid summer internship with the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, gaining hands-on experience in government affairs and policymaking.
“SBCS [helped] catapult my career—they saw something in me and gave me opportunities I didn’t think were possible. Now I’m working next door to City Hall every day, pursuing my passion for public policy.”—Jamie, SBCS Internship Graduate
SBCS provided more than 200 youth with employment support in 2024—and the demand for meaningful work experience is currently exceeding the agency’s capacity to place youth. SBCS is actively seeking local businesses to host interns with wages paid by SBCS. Contact impact@csbcs.org for more information or to get involved.
SBCS Internship student
SBCS’ leadership team shared that an Investment in EDC is an investment in regional workforce development.
“SBCS’ longtime partnership with San Diego Regional EDC has directly strengthened our impact.
Through EDC, SBCS has built meaningful connections with professionals across the region—resulting in new advisory partnerships, internship placements, funding opportunities, and community collaborations. When SBCS launched its internship program, EDC’s research and leadership in workforce development played a critical role in helping us secure grants and design a model grounded in real regional needs. SBCS is proud to be part of a network that champions inclusive economic growth, and we look forward to deepening our relationship in the years ahead.”
Join the movement
Progress on EDC’s 2030 Inclusive Growth goals is only achievable with and through the region’s employers scaling innovative and intentional solutions. Organizations like SBCS are helping to collectively pave the way toward a more inclusive regional economy.
Endorse the goals, and be part of the change San Diego’s economy demands.
I hope this message finds you well. While the news and the constant barrage of information surrounding us these days can feel a bit heavy and negative, I want to remind you all that for the last 13 years, the EDC team has been putting out “Good News of the Week” every Friday to make sure San Diegans end the week on the highest possible note. We always do our best to filter through everything we can to find news of businesses expanding and growing, universities receiving new accolades and funding, non-profit partners improving the community while improving the economy, and other milestone achievements advancing San Diego’s regional and global competitiveness.
Still, we would love to hear more milestones in innovation, collaboration, creativity, integrity, and inspiration that are found in all corners of our county and our binational region. Consider this my invitation and reminder to submit your own Good News and make sure we don’t miss out on elevating your stories.
In the spirit of sharing “Good News”, the incomparable Sir Elton John is coming back to Petco Park to perform at Curebound’s Concert for Cures on Friday, May 9. As we heard from EDC Investor and Curebound CEO Anne Marbarger in our January EDC Board Meeting, the nonprofit raises money for grants that support San Diego’s top research institutions in the fight against cancer. Join Lauree, me, and the broader San Diego business community as we help raise critical funds for cancer research, and officially say farewell to Sir Elton John. Explore Curebound’s Concert for Cures table and ticket information, or contact Anne directly at anne@curebound.org.
So again—keep the “Good News” coming. I can assure you there is not a week that goes by where someone in this community (or even outside of this community) doesn’t remind me of how uplifting it is to read about your collective successes, breakthroughs, wins, and moments worth celebrating.
Thank you as always for your leadership and support, and for continuing to make San Diego the unique and amazing place that it is.
Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the past week. GNOTW is sponsored by Manpower.
Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday.→ Sign up
For the week of April 25, 2025, here’s what we’re reading:
Join us and 200+ international business professionals on June 5 to celebrate MetroConnect VII, World Trade Center San Diego’s latest export accelerator cohort. Hear our top four MetroConnect companies pitch for a $25,000 grand prize, cast your vote, and enjoy an evening of networking with top regional exporters, trade offices, and consulates.
To better understand San Diego’s talent demand in priority industries, EDC’s Advancing San Diego program partnered with BW Research to conduct a comprehensive talent demand survey focused on business, computing, and engineering occupations. A survey of 264 businesses in San Diego County was fielded in March 2025. The survey prioritized larger firms to develop a more comprehensive profile of each of the listed occupations. All companies surveyed had at least five employees. Participation spanned all four of the primary regions in San Diego (North County, South County, East County, and Central San Diego) and several industries to ensure diversity of responses.
This data-driven effort supports Advancing San Diego’s Verified Program process and provides a real-time look at the workforce needs of local employers. Results show that while businesses are ready to grow, many face ongoing challenges in finding candidates with the skills and certifications needed to fill both entry- and mid-level roles.
Key findings
The largest share of employers considered internally-facing business roles—finance, purchasing, or project management positions—the most important out of all business, computing, and engineering roles.
The most difficult entry-level roles to fill included general engineers, project managers, engineering technicians, and software developers.
Businesses that prioritized engineers cited engineering as the most difficult occupationto fill with qualified entry-level talent.
Entry-level software developer roles took the longest for companies to fill, with 19 percent of companies reporting that it takes more than six months to fill this role.
The most challenging experienced position to fill was software developers, followed closely by experienced general engineers.
In computing, employers prioritized IT and network security skills, with certifications like A+, Security+, and CCNA frequently required or preferred.
What’s next?
Advancing San Diego verifies educational programs that meet or exceed industry expectations across five key areas. Programs that earn this designation gain public recognition and connection to regional employers.
September 26: Application deadline. EDC notifies programs that passed part one of the application process
November 13: Verified Program Designation Day
Programs pitch to industry to share diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at in-person event. Industry participants fill out rubrics based on program pitches as part two of the application
Use EDC’s Data Dashboard to explore how local education programs align with regional workforce needs and identify equity gaps in real-time. The dashboard highlights race and gender disparities, program completions, and connections to priority occupations—all designed to support more data-informed talent development efforts in San Diego County.
To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact:
Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the past week. GNOTW is sponsored by Manpower.
Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday.→ Sign up
For the week of April 18, 2025, here’s what we’re reading:
You’re ready to export and sell internationally…now what? If you’re a San Diego small business with little to no experience in exporting, join our free webinar on April 30. Learn the fundamentals of exporting from World Trade Center San Diego’s Export SBDC advisor.
Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the past week. GNOTW is sponsored by Manpower.
Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday.→ Sign up
For the week of April 11, 2025, here’s what we’re reading:
This year marks EDC’s 60th anniversary: Join us at Petco Park on May 15 in celebration at our Annual Dinner! We’ll hear briefly from EDC leadership, celebrate this year’s award winners, and walk on the field to enjoy our dinner reception and inspiring conversation at Gallagher Square.
Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the past week. GNOTW is sponsored by Manpower.
Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday.→ Sign up
For the week of April 4, 2025, here’s what we’re reading:
Know anyone passionate about supporting the region’s business and economic growth? We are now hiring for an entry-level Economic Development Coordinator, managing company inquiries, and coordinating strategic partnerships and resources for local businesses. The application will be open until the position is filled—spread the word!
Report: Gaps in accessibility challenge the region’s goals
Today, San Diego Regional EDC released its Inclusive Growth Progress Report, using the most up to date and available data (2023). With new progress and bold objectives set around increasing the number of quality jobs, skilled talent, and thriving households critical to the region’s competitiveness, the report measures San Diego’s growth and future outlook, and spotlights the greatest threats to prosperity
Making the business case for inclusion, EDC releases this annual report to track progress toward the region’s 2030 goals: 50,000 new quality jobs* in small businesses; 20,000 skilled workers per year; and 75,000 newly thriving households**.
Since its launch in 2017, the initiative has rallied public commitments from County, City, academic, and private sector leaders who are leveraging the Inclusive Growth framework to inform their priorities, tactics, and resource allocation. While much about the economy remains uncertain and inclusion is challenged at the national level, intentional and consistent efforts by a diverse set of regional stakeholders will be key to achieving these goals.
THE STORY BEHIND THE DATA
Halfway through the decade, the San Diego region continues to make progress towards its 2030 goals with increases in quality jobs, post-secondary education completions, and median household incomes in communities of color. Nevertheless, gaps in accessibility continue to challenge the region’s competitiveness.
In terms of quality jobs, San Diego has made immense progress towards the 2030 goal and is even projected to exceed it. However, while quality job numbers have increased, small businesses are struggling with a stagnant pace in job growth, talent acquisition, and staff retention. These challenges further the gap between small and large businesses and threaten small businesses’ ability to compete.
With many small businesses considering leaving the region due to funding and staffing challenges, it is vital that these firms have access to new markets. San Diego anchor institutions can make an immense impact by shifting just one percent of existing procurement spend to small, local, and diverse businesses.
San Diego’s innovation economy has positioned the region as a global hub for breakthrough scientific research and life-changing technological advancements. Yet, our talent shortage poses a threat to San Diego’s competitiveness and talent goal. A key issue continues to be accessibility for low-income students who make up the workforce of tomorrow but are underrepresented in today’s workforce. While Hispanic and Latino students make up almost half of San Diego’s K-12 students, only 20 percent are currently represented in the innovation economy workforce.
Furthermore, less than 40 percent of Black and Latino students from the graduating class of 2023 were considered college-ready upon graduation, which translates into less students opting into post-secondary education. This lack of preparation, coupled with the increasing requirement of a bachelor’s degree for entry level jobs, is exacerbating the talent crisis in the innovation economy. If San Diego is going to meet workforce needs and the talent goal by 2030, greater efforts must be made to enable access and opportunity for local, young, and diverse students.
With rising housing, transportation, and grocery costs, San Diego remains one of the most expensive metros in the country. While median household incomes have seen significant growth—especially in Black and Latino households—they still struggle to keep pace with rising costs. There is also a racial disparity in San Diego’s ratio of housing wealth to population share. For example, Latino households represent 27.4 percent of the population but hold only 17 percent of the region’s housing wealth.
While not at pre-pandemic numbers yet, San Diego has added 49,916 newly thriving households as of 2023, notable progress in the face of increasing affordability pressure. In order to sustain progress, housing options must be made available at more affordable price points, and housing permit activity needs to be accelerated to meet regional goals—especially for affordable and middle-income units.
The initiative is sponsored by Bank of America, Burnham Center for Community Advancement, County of San Diego, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Prebys Foundation, SDG&E, Southwest Airlines, and TOOTRiS.
Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the past week. GNOTW is sponsored by Manpower.
Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday.→ Sign up
For the week of March 28, 2025, here’s what we’re reading:
In an effort to showcase all that makes San Diego: Life. Changing., EDC’s talent attraction brand highlights Del Mar: a picturesque coastal city offering delicious eats, activities for all ages, and cutting-edge innovation.
Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the past week. GNOTW is sponsored by Manpower.
Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday.→ Sign up
For the week of March 21, 2025, here’s what we’re reading:
EDC’s impact is made possible with and through the investment of more than 150 public agencies, private organizations, companies, and developers. We sat down with EDC investor Breakthrough Properties to learn more about the developer’s work to help grow San Diego’s globally-renowned Life Sciences ecosystem—and why it invests in EDC.
