Our priority sector research informs program design, recommendations to students and job seekers, how our career centers are staffed, school curricula, the eligible provider training list and more.
In short, it’s an important part of our work.
What are priority sectors?
They are industry sectors in San Diego County that have high and growing numbers of jobs that pay at least a self-sufficient wage at entry level.
Sharing the sectors
Since the priority sectors were first released in 2014 and updated in 2017, we have presented on and distributed posters summarizing the sector findings throughout San Diego County, bridging the awareness gap for students and job seekers who want to learn about job options at various typical education attainment levels.
New research
As part of regional planning for the Southern Border Region (SBR)—comprising San Diego and Imperial counties—the SBR research team regularly updates the priority sectors. This year, it found that four priority sectors are shared between the two counties:
- Education & human development
- Energy, construction & utilities
- Health care
- Public administration
In addition to our four regional priority sectors, the SBR research team also identified three local priority sectors that recognize the unique economic drivers of each local area.
In San Diego County these sectors are:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Information & communication technologies and digital media
- Life sciences & biotechnology
In Imperial County, these sectors are:
- Advanced transportation & logistics
- Agriculture
- Leisure & hospitality
- Retail
Posters and printouts
With updated research comes new posters and companion 2-pagers designed for students and job seekers. Career counselors use these to showcase sectors and occupations across education attainment levels that pay a living wage, teachers use these materials to teach reading and critical thinking skills, while students use them to explore the world of work.
You can download the posters and 2-pagers here. Early next year we will be launching an online experience that will allow users to explore these sectors in more interactive ways. Stay tuned!