Author: sdcitd

The San Diego CITD, in collaboration with the Baja California Secretary of Economic Development (SEDECO) and Ensenada Economic Development Corporation, led a tour of several manufacturing facilities for small businesses in the Southern California region. More than 20 participants—which included business owners & representatives, as well as trade specialists and economic development professionals—boarded a bus provided by SEDECO and participated in the Baja Supplier Day Industrial Tour in Ensenada, Baja California. Companies participating in the event were recruited with the help of San Diego CITD partner, CMTC—a non-profit provider of manufacturing consulting services to California small and medium-sized manufacturers.

The tour began with a visit to the NAVICO/Lowrance Electronics of Mexico manufacturing plant in Ensenada.  NAVICO is Norwegian manufacturer of marine electronics and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with operations in 14 countries. As part of the tour of NAVICO’s facilities, participants were given an overview of the company and its current need for regional suppliers for a variety of components and services.

Once the tour of the NAVICO plant concluded, the group departed to Restaurante Madre—a recently opened restaurant in Ensenada by chef Miguel Bahena, who trained under well-known Baja chefs Benito Molina and Drew Deckman—to enjoy a lunch hosted by SEDECO. After lunch, the tour continued on to visit SUNPOWER/Sunpower Corporation Mexico, a leading manufacturer of solar panels for residential and commercial use. SunPower’s Ensenada plant, established in 2016 currently has 200 employees with plans to expand to 400. They also have a plant in the City of Mexicali with approximately 2,200 employees. The last stop on the tour was to Consolidated Precision Products (CPP). Founded in 1991, CPP has 19 facilities across the United States, Mexico, and Europe, and specializes in high-precision, geometrically complex aerospace components and sub-assemblies.

At each stop on the tour, participants had an opportunity to connect with plant managers and buyers to discuss supplier opportunities. The growth in manufacturing across the border has created a $13 billion supplier market within the Baja California manufacturing industry. The Baja Supplier Day Industrial tour was an activity of the San Diego CITD’s Border Export Program. Through tours like this and other activities, the CITD is creating opportunities for Southern California companies to become part of the supply chain in Baja California’s growing manufacturing sector.

Palomar College, in collaboration with the Deputy Sector Navigator for Global Trade (DSNGT), Deputy Sector Navigator for Advanced Manufacturing (DSNAM), and the CTE Regional Pathways Program, organized a professional development event for local educators interested in better understanding Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering, and Global Trade in the region, and learning about career opportunities for their students in these growing industry sectors. Participants included more than 25 educators from high schools and community colleges in North San Diego County, as well as administrators, counselors, and workforce development professionals from Palomar College, Southwestern College, San Diego City College, and Grossmont College.

The event, which was held at Palomar College’s Rancho Bernardo Education Center, began with a welcome by Margie Fritch, Dean of Career Technical and Extended Education at Palomar College. Following Dean Fritch’s introduction, DSNGT, Victor Castillo, and DSNAM, Ed Smith, provided an overview of their sectors before introducing CTE Regional Pathways Program Industry Connections Coordinator, Monica Rosas, who talked about work-based learning opportunities that educators can incorporate into their classroom teaching. The meeting then transitioned to a round robin activity with manufacturing engineers from local companies who gave brief introductions, before rotating through the tables of educators to talk about typical job duties, industry certifications that are desired, education needed, skills employers look for, and why they love their career, among other topics related to careers in their field. The round robin engineers represented the following companies: Solar Turbines, NV5, General Atomics, Johnson Matthey , and Cohu/Delta Design.

After the round robin activity and networking lunch, a group of the participants departed for a tour of Johnson Matthey, a British manufacturer of chemicals and pharmaceuticals with facilities in Rancho Bernardo. Prior to the tour of its facilities, representatives from the company provided participants an overview of the company, its products and services, and the types of jobs they hire for locally.

Additional resources shared with participants throughout the day included: an overview of regional manufacturing and global trade labor market information, regional website with curriculum for global trade, events and work based learning activities, opportunities for high schools integrating careers across job sectors and regional event offerings for teachers and students.

San Diego City College hosted its Annual Central San Diego Educational and Resource Expo on October 3rd as a lead-up activity for Manufacturing Day, which is celebrated nationally during the first week of October. Typical activities around the Manufacturing Day celebration include tours of manufacturing plants, presentations to students, and competitions, among other activities.

San Diego City College’s Educational and Resource Expo featured exhibits and panel discussions with representatives from local manufacturers and resource partners. The purpose of the event was to provide high school and community college students with information on the career opportunities in the manufacturing sector, as well as the educational programs available to help prepare them for these careers. With manufacturing closely linked to global trade, logistics, and supply chain management, staff from the Deputy Sector Navigator for Global Trade and San Diego CITD participated in the event and promoted the industry-recognized SCPro Fundamentals supply chain management certification program as well as other educational and training programs available at regional community colleges.

This year, Manufacturing Day will be celebrated on Friday, October 5th.

The Department of Rehabilitation, in partnership with the Department of Industrial Relations – Division of Apprenticeship Standards, held its first ever San Diego Apprenticeship Career Fair on August 24th, 2018 at the State of California offices in the Mission Valley area of San Diego. The event was open to the public and provided an opportunity for attendees to learn about the various apprenticeship programs available in the region, including new programs in non-traditional apprenticeship fields that have been developed as part of the California Apprenticeship Initiative – New and Innovative grant program of the  California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

Over 200 people attended and more than 17 apprenticeship programs exhibited at the event, including the Deputy Sector Navigator for Global Trade (DSNGT)/San Diego CITD’s Supply Chain and Logistics Apprenticeship Program (SCLAP), which trains apprentices for the Cargo and Freight Agent occupation. The SCLAP combines paid on-the-job training with classroom lessons. Apprentices in the program take courses from Southwestern College’s International Logistics and Transportation Program while working full-time. Additionally, apprentices will have the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications in supply chain management through the DSNGT/San Diego CITD’s SCPro Fundamentals certification program, which is backed by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).

Attendees at the event also had the opportunity to explore job vacancies, speak to local college and training providers, meet employers who take on apprentices, and get advice on completing applications.