Can SD Improve Its Tech-Talent Score?

Ewald: “The Jacobs School of Engineering at UC-San Diego is putting out more MBA students than Stanford and Berkeley combined.”

SAN DIEGO—While San Diego ranks No. 19—in the top half of the country—on CBRE’s Tech Talent Scorecard, which scores tech talent nationwide, capitalizing on its growth from within will help it retain more talent here, Andrew Ewald, VP and leader of the firm’s tech and media practice in San Diego, tells GlobeSt.com. According to the Scorecard, part of CBRE’s fifth-annual Scoring Tech Talent Report, which ranks 50 US and Canadian markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent, San Diego’s tech labor force grew 27.7% over the past five years and now totals 66,340.

The report, which can be viewed in detail by market in the interactive Tech Talent Analyzer, finds that strong demand for talent that offer specific skills, such as software development, coupled with a tight labor supply, is driving companies to locate in markets with the largest concentrations of high-quality talent. And while value is a key driver when it comes to choosing an office location, companies are showing that they are willing to pay a premium to access the highest quality tech talent.