Getting San Diegans back to work is one of my top priorities and the focus of my Pathway to Prosperity plan – but this won’t happen just by making it easier and cheaper for companies to do business in San Diego. Local leaders must also do everything they can to make sure San Diegans are prepared for the jobs available in the local market, especially emerging, high-paying careers. Workforce development is one of the major aspects of my job creation proposal, the Pathway to Prosperity.
San Diego’s youth need to be equipped with the “soft skills” of professionalism and the “hard skills” that come from career-specific job training. At the same time, San Diego’s companies can benefit from cost-effective use of an entry-level labor force.
Working with several non-profit groups and local employers, the San Diego Workforce Partnership has sponsored the “Hire-a-Youth” Program to provide up to 1,000 at-risk youth with summer employment opportunities.
I am proposing that the “Hire a Youth” program be significantly expanded to serve more of San Diego’s youth – and with expanded eligibility and programming. Specifically, over the next four years, my goal is to see participation in the program expand from the current 1,000 students to 5,000 students.
More specifically, my hope is that 2,500 at-risk youth can be provided with summer job opportunities in an expanded version of the current “Hire a Youth” program. The program will be expanded through an aggressive effort to recruit more businesses to participate in the program and to redirect existing governmental funds to utilize summer employment to achieve project goals.
I am also proposing that the City partner with the school districts, local non-profits, and private employers to hold three “Work Readiness Academies” for students wishing to learn about the “soft skill sets” of professionalism. As an example, “Junior Achievement” is one exemplary program that already works with fifth graders – but not all fifth graders have access to the Junior Achievement program, something I hope can change with the expanded “Work Readiness Academy” initiative.
For students that demonstrate exceptional academic performance and a desire to pursue a specific career track, I propose to leverage existing Workforce Partnership funds with private business support to provide up to 2,500 high school seniors with a “work-study” internship that includes paid employment and on-the-job training sponsored by local trade organizations. The program will allow students to test out a career path in one of San Diego’s emerging economic clusters before fully committing through a path of higher education or continued employment with their sponsor business.
Preparing San Diego’s workforce for the jobs available in San Diego is just a part of my Pathway to Prosperity Plan. In fact, the Pathway to Prosperity initiative includes four major components:
7 “Break Through” Proposals: I have unveiled 7 policy proposals (like this one on workforce development) that constitute a “starting point” for job creation – ranging from a complete overhaul of how the Development Services Department processes permits, to cutting red tape, to a clean tech incubator and retail expo.
15-Person Task Force: To assist in the review and formulation of job creation and economic development strategies, I have appointed a 15-person volunteer Task Force comprised of well-known San Diego business leaders and experts. We need to get our ideas for job creation from real business leaders – not Sacramento and Washington politicians that have only shown the ability to kill jobs rather than create them.
Job Creation Hotline: San Diegans can share their ideas for job creation and regulatory reform by calling 619-236-6210.
“Jobs Summits:” Over the next four months, I will convene a series of Town Halls where business owners and members of the public can help formulate and refine proposals for job creation.
So join in the conversation – and let’s get San Diegans back to work!