San Antonio Pioneering Workforce Development and City Services Innovation

In a significant move showcasing the future of business and public services, San Antonio is taking the lead in pioneering innovative strategies in workforce development and enhancing city services.

Innovating Workforce Development

Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, the President and CEO of Greater:SATX, recently shed light on how Greater:SATX helped transform San Antonio’s economic development strategy. The turning point was a conversation with a top executive at Toyota in San Antonio, hinting at the lack of support they were getting in the area of workforce development.

Saucedo-Herrera recalls this conversation as a pivotal moment, leading to the Greater:SATX shifting its focus towards workforce development. As a result, leading companies, like Toyota, USAA, and H-E-B, started to “lean in” on the issue.

However, attracting this involvement required a significant shift in mindset. Ultimately, it was this change in strategy that won JCB, a heavy equipment manufacturer based in Great Britain, over to locate its latest plant in San Antonio. According to Saucedo-Herrera, it wasn’t the incentives that clinched the deal but rather the workforce.

Despite the significant strides made in this area, Saucedo-Herrera acknowledges that the job isn’t complete. “We’ve got to stay the course here,” she said, commenting on the need for sustained efforts to create a local workforce capable of matching employers’ needs.

Enhancing City Services through Innovation

San Antonio isn’t limiting its innovation to workforce development alone, but also working to improve city services. Emily Royall, the Smart Cities Administrator for the City of San Antonio, shed light on her team’s role in utilizing innovation, data, and technology to improve public services.

Royall shares about the creation of a Smart Cities Roadmap, a strategic plan developed from community input across San Antonio. This roadmap has since won two major national awards, the IDC North American Awards and the Tech Connect Smart 20 Award.

The Smart Cities Roadmap outlines five priorities shared by residents, which has enabled San Antonio to compete for federal grants investing in innovation and technologies. According to Royall, showing community buy-in is crucial for competitiveness.

Royall emphasizes that the ‘smart cities’ industry has grown tremendously, leading to a surge in tech companies offering new technologies. However, not all these innovations may align with the San Antonio community’s needs.

“This roadmap is an important signal to vendors and tech companies as to what really matters to San Antonio,” Royall said, stressing on the significance of the strategic direction the roadmap provides.

With its commitment to fostering workforce development and improving city services through technology, innovation is clearly at the heart of San Antonio’s future trajectory. It will be exciting to monitor the city’s continued progress in these fields, and the potential ripple effects this might have on other cities looking to enhance their own economic and public service sectors.