Daily Business Report-Dec. 14, 2018
Chart by Robert Half Technology
2019 Tech Hiring Report
for San Diego shows high optimism
A report by Robert Half Technology says 91 percent of San Diego IT hiring managers plan to hire during the first half of 2019, yet 80 percent of them report challenges finding skilled IT talent.
The findings are in the 2019 Tech Hiring Report for San Diego that was released this week.
Some highlights:
- Optimism is high: 98 percent of hiring managers are confident in their company’s plans for growth.
- Contractors are key: 68 percent have made plans to hire project professionals to help keep special initiatives on track.
- Urgent need for skills: Professionals with these skills are most immediately needed: cybersecurity, cloud security, virtualization, cloud computing, and wireless network management.
Challenges remain: 80 percent of San Diego IT hiring managers report challenges finding skilled IT talent. The hardest areas to fill: security, software development, applications development, and database management.
- Priorities revealed: Maintaining the security of company systems; innovating and helping to grow the business; cloud projects initiatives, and investing in new technologies ranked the highest among local companies.
“Companies are moving extremely quickly to attract tech talent, and this will impact the hiring process in 2019,” said Kyle Houston, branch manager for Robert Half Technology in San Diego. “We’re seeing organizational growth with large tech companies, but our startup community also saw a strong uptick due to Office 365 and cloud infrastructure initiatives.”
Added Houston: “Looking into 2019, we expect local companies will continue to offer competitive salaries, and offer benefits to promote work life balance, such as remote working opportunities, and office perks that help fuel a happy and productive work environment.”
Click here for more specific findings.
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Apple to establish new location in San Diego
as part of major national expansion
Apple said Thursday that it plans to expand its employee base in San Diego, bringing its local workforce to 1,000 employees over the next three years.
The Cupertino iPhone maker, which is in a bitter legal fight with Qualcomm over patent fees, made the announcement as part of its unveiling of a new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas.
Apple said it was establishing new sites in San Diego, Seattle and Culver City. It did not name a location, but it is rumored to be targeting a new 95,000-square-foot building in the University City/Eastgate Mall area of San Diego.
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Pfizer adds 100 jobs to cancer research in La Jolla
Pfizer is adding 100 jobs to its oncology research center in La Jolla, increasing employment to more than 900. Pfizer is transferring those positions from its site in South San Francisco. The move, announced Monday, was made to simplify the structure of its oncology research the drug giant said.
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American Society of Landscape Architects
calls for presentations at 2019 conference
The American Society of Landscape Architects has released its call for presentations for the 2019 Conference on Landscape Architecture taking place Nov. 15-18 in San Diego. More than 6,000 landscape architects and allied professionals are expected to attend.
The meeting will feature a diverse spectrum of industry experts speaking on a wide range of subjects, from sustainable design and best practices to new materials and technologies. More than 130 education sessions and field sessions will be presented during the meeting, providing attendees with the opportunity to earn up to 21 professional development hours under the Landscape Architecure Continuing Education System.
Landscape architecture professionals wishing to present at the San Diego conference need to be active members of ASLA. Allied professionals are encouraged to both submit presentations and speak but are not required to be members of the Society.
Click here for more information.
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Port moves forward on new bicycle
and pedestrian path for Chula Vista bayfront
The Port of San Diego is moving forward on a new bicycle and pedestrian multi-use path for the Chula Vista Bayfront. The Board of Port Commissioners and the city of Chula Vista have authorized issuance of Coastal Development Permits for the Sweetwater Bicycle Path and Promenade project (Sweetwater Pathway), clearing the way for construction, which is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2019.
The total project cost is $5.63 million, $4.8 million of which is being funded through an Urban Greening Grant awarded to the Port by the California Natural Resources Agency.
The Sweetwater Pathway will wind through the northern portion of the Chula Vista Bayfront, providing beautiful views of San Diego Bay, F and G Street Marsh and adjacent Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, and link the regional Bayshore Bikeway to waterfront amenities and future development sites. It will directly connect the future Sweetwater Park and Harbor Park and provide improved access to the waterfront. It’s anticipated to open in the spring of 2020.
The Sweetwater Pathway is part of the 535-acre Chula Vista Bayfront project.
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Carlsbad Desalination Plant’s
3-year anniversary celebrated
Project partners Poseidon Water and the San Diego County Water Authority gathered at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant to celebrate the delivery of 40 billion gallons of drought-resilient drinking water to San Diego County during three years of commercial operations at the plant.
“It’s incredible what we’ve accomplished in three years,” said Sandra Kerl, deputy general manager of the Water Authority. “Since coming online in 2015, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant has met nearly 10 percent of the region’s water demand, and it will be a core water resource for decades to come.”
The plant provides San Diego County with more than 50 million gallons of high-quality, locally controlled, water every day. It’s a foundational water supply for the county that minimizes the region’s vulnerability to drought or other water supply emergencies. The Carlsbad plant also is the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation.
“This pioneering project continues to be a shining example of innovation and a vital resource for the San Diego region,” said Poseidon Water CEO Carlos Riva.
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Opinion Poll
Despite surging economy, Californians anxious about future
By Ben Christopher | CALmatters
Californians may have just voted overwhelmingly for more of the same—boosting Democratic majorities in both chambers of the Legislature and replacing one Democratic governor with another for the first time since the 1880’s—but many are still eager for major changes to state policy. And a majority are downright pessimistic about California’s future.
Those results, which would seem at odds with recent indicators that paint a sunny macroeconomic picture for the state, come via a new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California.
Half of all respondents, and 60 percent of respondents identified as likely voters, predicted that children growing up today in California will face a bleaker financial future than their parents. That impending decline could arrive sooner than we think. Asked if California should expect an economic downturn in the next year, respondents were split. And like the state’s economic growth, that optimism was not evenly distributed: majorities of coastal city residents foresee good times ahead, while pessimism clustered in the Inland Empire and Central Valley.
The number of Californians who believe “the good times might be over” was “decidedly different than even a few weeks before the election,” said Mark Baldassare, president of the institute.
The rising pessimism could be the result of a waning stock market or news of the county’s still-unresolved trade war. But a general sense of economic anxiety is also in keeping with a long-term trend since the last decade’s Great Recession, he said.
“We’re at this point in the recovery which should have given people more of a sense of economic security and there are a lot of people who feel insecure,” said Baldassare.
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Credit union changes name, rebrands
San Diego Metropolitan Credit Union has changed its name to Wheelhouse Credit Union, launching a rebranding initiative with a new graphic identity, logo and website.
“We are inspired by our desire to embrace a new and energized future for our credit union and members, while honoring our city of San Diego legacy. Our passion for people, the community and the environment will continue with a focus on eco-friendly and sustainability issues as well as community partnerships,” said Lisa Paul-Hill, president and CEO. “Providing the best experience and financial services for our employees and members is in our wheelhouse; caring about the environment and sustainability is in everyone’s wheelhouse. The name change allows us to emphasize our broader mission.”
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Personnel Announcements
Teresa Beckwith joins Christopher Weil & Co.
Christopher Weil & Company Inc. announced that Teresa Beckwith has joined the firm as a relationship manager.
Beckwith received her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and her master’s from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She joins CWC’s team of relationship managers responsible for providing advisory and management services for existing clients, as well as originating relationships with new ones.
“In Teresa we have found an accomplished professional with a unique and valuable worldview, someone we feel will amplify our ability to collaborate with clients as they navigate their complex financial lives,” said John Wells, president and CEO of the firm.
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Nicole Rivers joins Higgs Fletcher & Mack
Higgs Fletcher & Mack has added attorney Nicole M. Rivers to its employment and business litigation groups.
Named a “rising star” by Illinois Super Lawyers consecutively for three years, Rivers is joining HFM after several successful years representing labor and employment clients in California and Missouri. She also has experience in complex commercial litigation, antitrust, product liability, real estate, and municipal code enforcement matters.
Rivers served as an environmental law fellow with the Environmental Law and Policy Center and interned with the Hon. Mary Ann Medler, who formerly served as a Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. While in law school, she served as a staff editor on the Washington University Law Review.
