Manufacturing Futures is a new collaborative effort to retain and expand quality, career-pathway production jobs in the Silicon Valley manufacturing sector.
Led by Working Partnerships USA, Manufacturing Futures brings together the public workforce development system, local community colleges, public adult education providers, business associations, labor unions, economic development agencies, and community-based organizations to build systems that meet the needs of manufacturing employers seeking a skilled, trained, and stable workforce, and of workers and jobseekers seeking family-supporting, dignified careers.
Why Manufacturing?
Manufacturing is the third largest employer industry in Santa Clara County, and one of the region’s largest employers of workers of color and immigrant workers. Blue-collar jobs in production, fabrication, assembly and related roles have long been the foundation of job and career opportunities for Silicon Valley’s major communities. As the Bay Area faces extreme inequality between typically high-wage tech jobs and low-wage service jobs, the manufacturing sector offers an important opportunity to advance economic equity by expanding the middle class.
Yet today, manufacturers are increasingly reporting challenges in attracting and retaining a skilled production workforce, as well as other challenges like siting, energy, and expenses associated with keeping or growing their production in Silicon Valley.
At the same time, the largely BIPOC and immigrant production workforce in Silicon Valley often struggle with wages not meeting the cost of living, contributing to housing instability, working poverty, and displacement. Our low-income and BIPOC communities are also exposed to disproportionate levels of pollution, a pattern of environmental injustice playing out region-wide.
California has committed to a 100% clean energy future, and getting there means rebuilding how we power the state from the ground up.
Manufacturing sits at the center of that shift. As the state moves away from a fossil fuel-based economy, we need to produce the solar cells, wind turbines, batteries, cables, transformers, and other infrastructure the clean energy economy runs on. Manufacturing is where that work happens.
This creates a unique opportunity for public, community, and private sector partners to come together to grow high-quality, blue-collar manufacturing jobs in Silicon Valley, and this is what Manufacturing Futures aims to do.
The Manufacturing Futures collaborative is being developed as part of the broader Bay Area High Road Manufacturing Initiative (BAHRMI), with seed funding from California Jobs First / Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative. Learn more about BAHRMI here.
In conjunction with these regional and state funded efforts, Manufacturing Futures is committed to attracting and shaping public and private investments in manufacturing to our region, focusing on partnerships with businesses that provide livable-wage jobs, environmental justice, worker voice, and equitable employment practices.
Are you a Worker or Jobseeker?
If you’re looking for a job in manufacturing, or interested in exploring career opportunities, please complete this form to connect with one of our career coaches.
Please note that we work in the Bay Area, primarily in Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Alameda Counties; we do not have connections to careers outside of this region.
Are you a manufacturer?
We work collaboratively with manufacturing companies to build recruitment and training pipelines into high-quality careers in the industry. Our focus is in Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and southern Alameda County.
By leveraging resources through California Jobs First, California Community Colleges, California Adult Education Program, local and state Workforce Development Boards, and community organizations, we provide free services to help companies offering quality jobs and advancement opportunities to grow your skilled production workforce. Email us to learn more or set up a call.
Resources available through Manufacturing Futures partners include:
Employee Recruitment
- Career exploration opportunities
- Introductory manufacturing training through adult education and community colleges
- Internships, pre-apprenticeships, and apprenticeship programs
- Outreach, pre-screening, and job-matching for qualified local jobseekers
Retention and Career Advancement
- Short-term skill-building certificates
- Certification and degree programs
- Structured on-the-job training programs
- Career advising and support services
Are you a community, civic, educational, or workforce development organization?
Manufacturing Futures is always open to expanding our collaborative! If you are interested in learning more and connecting with our work, email us.
Manufacturing Futures is funded in part by the Bay Area Jobs First Collaborative, with additional support from Tipping Point Community, the Silicon Valley Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (SVAMP), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
