- San Diego is poised to see return of manufacturing as overseas costs increase
- Area manufacturers specialize in prototype development, low-volume production and just-in-time delivery
- Government regulations, taxes, environmental issues, utility costs and availability challenge manufacturers
- Many manufacturers unaware of assistance programs available to them
Finding Resources
Manufacturing companies are being courted by other states to relocate with attractive incentives to do so. The survey revealed that “Almost 75% of the manufacturers surveyed were unaware of various assistance programs available to them… 76% of the respondents indicated they had not worked with college or job training programs…Only 16% of those surveyed said they had forged a business relationship with local educational institutions…Nine percent of the businesses indicated they had participated in a state job training program.”
Several manufacturers said there was a shortage of qualified CNC machinists and they had to recruit from all over the region. The need for classes at both the high school and college level was cited as a necessity to grow these types of workers. More efforts toward preparing the future manufacturing workforce are required. Manufacturers expressed difficulty in finding qualified employees, noting many of the training programs have been downsized or no longer exist due to budget cuts. There is a need to retrain current employees and offer additional training classes related to computerized manufacturing equipment.
Additionally, manufacturers were not aware of finance, tax credit and permit assistance programs being offered. Only 20% were aware of small business finance and business assistance programs, and less than 20% were aware of various tax credit programs, permit assistance and employment assistance programs.
To ensure San Diego can maximize the opportunities provided by manufacturing returning to the U.S., the report found that “there is a need to link the innovation companies with local manufacturing…to capture the “lab to shelf” full chain of product within our region. To accomplish this, there needs to be a better connection between the innovation companies and the manufacturers. There also needs to be a better way to link local manufacturers with each other as well as link companies to local suppliers.”
An efficient way of connecting companies is through the Connectory.com database, which is an online resource containing detailed capabilities and profiles of manufacturers and supply chain companies. San Diego County currently has over 5,000 company profiles on Connectory.com. Profiles make it easier to understand the capabilities of the manufacturing supply chain and find core capabilities and capacities that are needed for the large amount of contracts and subcontracts available in San Diego County.
Michele Nash-Hoff is president of ElectroFab Sales. She is the author of "Can American Manufacturing Be Saved?"
