Phil Blair, a Del Mar resident, is one of San Diego’s most visible and respected business leaders. Since 1977, he along with partner Mel Katz, have built Manpower San Diego into the largest Manpower franchise in the United States with annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Manpower provides quality employment opportunities, training and workforce solutions. It has become San Diego’s fourth-largest local for-profit employer, providing approximately 2,500 jobs daily through its six countywide branches.
An often-quoted employment industry expert, Phil appears frequently in local business publications, on television and radio. Phil is a long-time employment commentator, a professional speaker on employment and workforce transition issues and is the author of Strategies for Success, a career resource guide. He is also a member of the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Workforce Development Board. Here he tells us a little bit about him.
Why are you passionate about workforce development?
On the Workforce Development Board we have the opportunity to use federal training dollars to change people’s lives. At any age and any junction in their career they can come to us for advice on career options, career goals, training options and maybe most importantly networking connections to either get that new job or that new career.
If you had $1M to donate to a workforce development program, what would you want done with it?
I would provide Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs) for entry level training programs that are not provided free from the Workforce Partnership. Is is time to make them available for entry level training for non-college bound students.
What do you like best about being on the Workforce Development Board?
We have the opportunity to bring big and small businesses together to the table to have constructive conversations with training providers, union representatives and government representatives to talk about current and future employment issues facing San Diego County.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working? Any new hobbies since we started working from home?
In order of importance my newest focuses are our four grandchildren, two of which are brand new, a sleep aboard boat (knowing full well about the two best days of owning a boat) and taking up surfing.