What Valley manufacturers are short of
What the region reports
- employees represented
- 2,005
- leaders interviewed
- 26
- training programs
- 142
- schools and providers
- 75
Employer figures as of October 2026.
SJVMA's critical gaps
Self-Starting & Initiative
Raised across the region, not tied to one industry.
Build ownership into onboarding
AI & Digital Literacy
New equipment and software adoption slows without it.
Add a short AI and digital module for current technicians
Electrical Troubleshooting
Held by senior staff only. A retirement risk.
Cross-train mid-career technicians now
What employers need vs. what the region teaches
Employer-named gaps from fewer than 10 assessed employers. Bars count programs.
- Safety and complianceEmployer-named gap · 50%+48
- Maintenance and diagnosticsEmployer-named gap · 50%+45
Who's in the alliance
By county
By industry
By size
Markets served
Fewer than 10 of 38 have claimed their profile.
4 more members are outside the region, in no regional figure.
Claim your companyAdds your own skill needs to these figures. Your company stays unnamed.
No company is named. Locations and sizes are SJVMA's public-source record, not a verified register. Groups under 3 employers show as Other.
What mid-level roles pay
Sample figures for illustration. They are not BLS data and not what employers report.
Where the region is heading
From SJVMA.
- Rising:
Work coming back to the US
Companies are spending to grow
- Rising:
Making their own products
Not just parts for someone else’s order
- Falling:
Workers harder to find than customers
A flip from how business used to work