Where is SD Getting and Nurturing Tech Talent?

SAN DIEGO—Three local universities are spitting out young, energetic Millennials to the market, causing San Diego's tech-talent growth rate to soar 31.2% from 2010 to 2013, Andrew Ewald, CBRE's VP in charge of tech and media, tells GlobeSt.com. We spoke with Ewald exclusively following the firm's recent report about tech talent, which revealed that San Diego's tech-talent growth rate between 2010 and 2013 was 31.2%, making it one of the country's largest markets for tech-talent growth.

GlobeSt.com: What makes San Diego a prime market for tech-talent growth?

Ewald: There's an interesting metric around growth in the Millennials sector, which is the same as overall tech-talent growth. San Diego used to just rely on its great weather and being a great incubation place with a lot of innovation happening, whereas within the last five years a couple of different things have been the drivers of change. Primarily, the talent pool has been driven by our three incredible universities—UCSD, SDSU and USD—which have been spitting out young, energetic Millennials. San Diego also been an amazing incubation and innovation center: CONNECT [a regional program that catalyzes the creation of innovative technology and life sciences products in San Diego County by linking inventors and entrepreneurs with the resources they need for success], and EvoNexus [a technology incubator and ground zero for Southern California's startup community with locations in San Diego and Irvine] are creating an environment of collaboration for these innovative startups and given a home to these Millennials. They've also had support from large users, the Qualcomms of the world with a vested interest in innovation and collaboration. This has put San Diego as #17 out of 50 on our tech-growth scorecard based on the metrics we outline for tech growth.

GlobeSt.com: Is the region attracting tech talent from other areas of California, such as the Silicon Valley or from other markets across the country?

Ewald: Prior to 2009, San Diego was very much in a silo. Ninety-nine percent of our growth came from within. We self-incubated, and our companies were intellectual property that grew from here and were supported by local organizations. The talent lived and breathed here and grew up here. Within the last five years with the growth of technology, San Diego has become much more of a global player, sharing ideas, best practices and being part of a cross-pollination of people that has taken place certainly on the West Coast but also on a national level. We have some new companies coming here who are attracted by partnerships with large tech users and the labor pool, who have looked at Silicon Valley and other areas and see San Diego as a very viable place that can compare with the big guys such as New York, DC and the Bay Area. Venture capitalists—the companies and the people themselves—that we didn't have before are now relocating and expanding their ideas in San Diego.

We're very uniquely positioned, more of a broad diverse economy when you factor in defense, hospitality, basic technology and life science. There's been a meeting of the minds where tech has been a driver for success and change that has connected all of those linear, vertical disciplines. Tech has been a great bridge where the brewer wants to connect with users. Life-science people are using wearables to track biometrics. It's almost been lumped together, and while we don't have a huge diversity in people as some other major metro areas do, we do have a huge diversity of ideas and business verticals where technology is at the center of that growth. It's allowing us to do some amazing things and challenging us to use technology to expand our strong economic pillars here.

GlobeSt.com: Should we expect to see tech firms in other office submarkets besides Downtown and Del Mar?

Ewald: We're seeing tech companies everywhere. It has allowed people to work virtually and not necessarily be tied to an address, but working where they're comfortable and where their talent is. UTC, Del Mar and Sorrento Heights are typically the most expensive core and helpful for recruiting to San Diego, but we've also seen growth in Carlsbad, and we're starting to see great growth in Downtown San Diego. Movement to the cities is pivotal to the culture and recruitment and retention companies feel they need to grow.

GlobeSt.com: What else can we take away from this information about San Diego's tech-talent potential?

Ewald: San Diego has more than 800 telecom-related companies in town; 12% of our GDP comes from tech companies, according to the San Diego Business Journal; we are part of Southern California, the third-largest nationwide area in venture-capital spending of $820 million, primarily focused on tech-related companies. And San Diego in 2014 outpaced national job growth by 1%. It's nice to see that San Diego is slightly edging out the average. It's gotten to this critical mass where technology is incrementally changing and growing, and we're really seeing a war over talent. Eventually, companies are not going to care as much about the cost of real estate vs. their ability to recruit and retain the best talent. This impacts us on the real estate side: if we're able to deliver very cool space or buildings, that's now integral to your business. We will see a lot of competitive companies try to recruit and retain talent, which will have a very positive impact on our business community.