The San Diego & Imperial Center of Excellence (COE), San Diego & Imperial Regional Consortium (SDIRC), San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation (IVEDC) recently received funding from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to launch “Advancing San Diego and Imperial’s Talent Connection – Blue and Green Tech.”

This regional initiative will align education, training, and workforce systems to support the blue and green economies—including clean energy, marine technology, sustainable construction, and water systems management. By May 2026, the partners will complete regionwide workforce studies analyzing employer demand and related educational programs.

As more organizations pursue similar projects, collaboration will be key to avoiding duplicative efforts and ensuring a shared, data-driven understanding of these emerging economies. Once these studies are completed, we will announce a presentation to discuss the findings.