We hear a lot about the skills gap, but what is it? In short, it is the difference between the skills employers want and what workers currently have. To close the gap, we must continually identify the skills that employers need and train job seekers to meet that demand.
In October 2014, SDWP and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association released reports analyzing industry sectors vital to the regional economy, experiencing rapid growth and projecting skills shortages. To further share this Priority Sector data, we created posters on each sector.
The Priority Sector posters highlight career pathways within San Diego’s five Priority Sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Health Care, Information and Communication Technologies and Life Sciences. Each poster includes information about top jobs, education and skill requirements and median wages presented in a digestible one-sheet designed for students in grades K-12. In addition, SDWP produced an Essential Skills poster to explain what essential, also called “soft”, skills are and their importance in gaining and maintaining employment.
Thanks to financial support from Jerome’s Furniture, the County of San Diego, City of San Diego, and Manpower, Priority Sector Posters and the Essential Skills poster have been produced and distributed to hundreds of schools, career centers and organizations throughout the region. Jerome’s Furniture’s sponsorship also underwrote the translation of the boards into Spanish, with distribution of these boards beginning in the next month.
“The amazing generosity of our sponsors will ensure that we are able to help thousands of San Diegans aspire to careers in our region and inform them of the skills needed to succeed,” says Peter Callstrom, SDWP CEO.
The Priority Sector and Essential Skills posters are publicly available here. If you would like to find out more about receiving a set of printed boards, please contact heathermb@workforce.org.