2022 In the News

2022 is coming to a close and as we look back over the last 12 months, we have gathered some of our favorite headlines from throughout the Greater San Antonio region. 

• greater:SATX names new chief economic development officer: Carabias-Rush most recently led corporate recruitment, international engagement and leadership development programs for the Dallas Regional Chamber, which greater:SATX officials consider one of the nation’s model economic development organizations.

• Don’t call it a commuter college: UTSA’s fancy new honor means big things for San Antonio: It just got easier for UTSA to recruit sought-after professors and secure federal grants. The designation will mean more collaboration between the university and corporations, as well as nonprofits. And it’s likely to pique the interest of companies looking to relocate or expand operations to San Antonio.

• San Antonio to launch ‘unprecedented’ SA: Ready to Work jobs program: San Antonio city and business leaders made a major announcement on a jobs program aimed to take thousands of local families out of poverty.  More than 70 companies have already taken the pledge to be a part of SA: Ready To Work, a workforce development program funded by a 1/8-cent sales and use tax collected through December 2025. 77% of San Antonio residents voted for the initiative.

• Local businesses rally behind SA Ready to Work ahead of City Council vote: SA Ready to Work aims to provide long-term training, bachelor’s or associate’s degrees for 40,000 residents over four years. More than 70 companies have already pledged to be a part of SA Ready to Work.

• SA WORX job shadow day program connects students to employers: SA WORX hosted its seventh annual Job Shadow Days March 1-3. Since its inception, SA WORX, the workforce development team housed within greater:SATX, has continued growing its work-based learning programs to connect employers to their future workforce.

• San Antonio’s tech sector sees job gains during pandemic: San Antonio’s tech industry grew at an accelerated pace during the first part of the pandemic, a new report from the Brookings Institution found. The spate of new jobs, spurred by startups and legacy institutions alike, came as overall growth in the local sector remained comparatively low, and as downtown slips in its status as its epicenter. 

• Brooks Academy focused on future of San Antonio, hosts area STEM night: Every year, more and more technology jobs are coming to the Alamo City.  The greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership shows that more than 1,000 tech companies presently call the San Antonio area home, and their average salary is $95,000. In an effort to get more families and students interested in the STEM field, Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering is hosting a special event.

• Overlooked and underfunded: How 2-year HBCUs are building critical tech-talent pipelines despite the odds: Historically overlooked and under-resourced, two-year HBCUs have been building technology-talent pipelines with minimal resources, and the efforts are starting to be noticed by government agencies and some of the largest industry names.

“Accenture, USAA and Cisco Systems Inc. along with other cyber-focused employers, are increasingly changing four-year degree requirements to fill labor shortages and bring in diverse talent from all socioeconomic backgrounds.”

– Romanita Matta-Barrera

Chief workforce officer, greater:SATX.

• Navistar Celebrates Grand Opening of its Benchmark San Antonio Manufacturing Plant: Navistar hosted an official ribbon cutting event for its San Antonio Manufacturing Plant, a benchmark facility leading the company’s manufacturing in process optimization, real-time production management and sustainability in manufacturing operations.  The facility improves quality, lowers costs and provides capacity support to Navistar’s current manufacturing footprint.

• DeLorean is back for the future with brand new EV: The DeLorean Motor Company, which has been revived with new ownership in San Antonio, Texas, has debuted the next car to bear the DeLorean name: the all-electric Alpha5.

• New Braunfels, Seguin, Schertz team up for regional job fair: The New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation, the Seguin Economic Development Corporation and the Schertz Economic Development Corporation teamed up to host a regional job fair. The free event, featured around 40 employers ready to hire for immediate openings in a diverse range of job skills.

“We have a number of great employers in attendance this year with open positions ranging from tech to manufacturing. This a wonderful opportunity for job seekers in the region to find a great long-term career.”

– Michele Boggs

Vice President of Economic Development, New Braunfels EDC.

• SA leaders launching Future Ready economic equity plan: The countywide strategy has national support and will seek to address some of the damage inflicted by Covid-19. The organization worked with more than 80 local institutions and 200 student-serving professionals to ensure that the plan had clear support from key stakeholders, including greater:SATX, formerly the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.

• Driving force: San Antonio picks up speed in auto industry: Employment in auto manufacturing has more than doubled over the last two decades, a sign of the statewide shift toward vehicle production. You can see their ascendancy in San Antonio. 

“The city wants “to make sure Ready to Work is taking those job orders, so to speak, directly from industry and working very closely with them. As individuals are going through the program, they’re trained into job opportunities and not into joblessness.”

– Romanita Matta-Barrera,

Chief Workforce Officer, greater:SATX.

• Can SA-Austin be EV manufacturing mega region? Why local leaders say yes: A collaborative strategy could produce more wins along the Interstate 35 corridor. Local leaders, including greater:SATX officials, believe there is an opportunity to position the area between the Alamo City and Austin as a super target for additional electric vehicle and battery production.

“We’ve been having active conversations with Austin about the broader mega region as it relates specifically to electric vehicle manufacturing,”

Jenna Saucedo Herrera

President and CEO, greater:SATX

• Caterpillar plans $24M Schertz expansion, more new jobs: The latest investment represents another regional win in a key employment sector. The Schertz facility currently machines engine blocks and cylinder heads for various Caterpillar products, particularly for its large engine business in nearby Seguin.

• greater:SATX program launches initiative aimed at growing employment in key industries: SA WORX, the workforce development arm of economic development organization greater:SATX, is rolling out an initiative to build workforce resources for new and expanding businesses.  The organization is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to deploy Talent Pipeline Management, a program that identifies high-growth and high-wage industries’ labor needs and connects employers with talent.

• Initial trainees graduate as voter-approved SA: Ready to Work program lifts off: City officials hope there will be thousands of such success stories from Ready to Work training programs. Over the next five years, the ambitious initiative aims to enroll about 28,000 city residents into college or job training and place 16,000 people into jobs that pay at least $15 an hour.

• San Antonio computes 80 percent growth in tech jobs from 2021-2022: San Antonio’s stature as a hub for cybersecurity is boosting its profile as a hub for tech employment.  A new report from Dice, an online platform for tech professionals, shows San Antonio ranked sixth among major U.S. cities for the growth of tech job postings from the first half of 2021 to the first half of 2022. San Antonio registered an increase of 80 percent.

• City announces new manufacturing facility, $75M investment, 106 jobs: A new manufacturing company is bringing a $75 million investment and 106 jobs to Seguin. The city of Seguin and Seguin’s Economic Development Corporation announced that Maruichi Stainless Tube Texas Corporation plans to construct a 125,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Rio Nogales Industrial Park on Eighth Street.

• Commentary: How we can build a talent pipeline in San Antonio: There is a solution to building and maintaining a sustainable workforce — a collaboration between employers, educators and training providers to create a data-driven alignment between classroom and career.

• San Antonio workforce development group launches retention program: Officials with SA WORX, the workforce development arm of the economic development organization greater:SATX, said Oct. 11 they are rolling out a new Alamo Fellows program designed to help improve talent retention across the San Antonio area. A news release said Alamo Fellows aims to increase community, career and social connections for first-generation college students with the goal of urging talented college graduates to build their careers in San Antonio.

• greater:SATX tries to bring in, grow quality jobs in San Antonio: Along with San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, greater:SATX recently returned from a special trip to Japan.: 

“The goal was to drive business investment in San Antonio. Japan has had a long standing relationship with San Antonio, and this was all about business development. So we were there for four days. We had 22 meetings and interacted with almost 100 businesses while we were there.”

Jenna Saucedo Herrera

President & CEO, greater:SATX

• Matta-Barrera pushes creating equal opportunities in developing San Antonio workforce: In her position as chief workforce officer of greater:SATX, a public-private partnership funded largely by local companies with a mission to grow the regional economy, she works to build a robust workforce in San Antonio — in part, by creating opportunities for first-generation Americans such as herself.

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