January 2021 Review
Happy new year!
With a seasonal lull at work I was able to put some more time into the DVTI website. Primarily, I added back the tech companies directory that existed on the custom version of the DVTI website. I discovered that Wix supports dynamic content, so this was pretty fun to build.
I also worked more on the tech sales and web development pages. These two programs present our interest in making more formal vocational training available to the Contra Costa Community College District. DVTI can't run these programs but we can advocate for them and help to produce the supporting documentation that might help bring them to fruition.
In December we also reviewed the business survey that has been running on our website. Still with just 27 responses, we can't come to any conclusions, but we are seeing some trends emerge. Businesses want industry-specific training and they also plan to hire engineers and digital marketers. These results make more confident that our workforce development programs are headed in the right direction.
In January a few threads to started to come together on the economic development side of DVTI. They are largely around building a drone tech ecosystem in the Diablo Valley and East County regions. I had several great meetings with leaders in the drone tech field at both the county and community college levels.
Here are a few of my takeaways:
There is already a lot going on in drone ecosystem development. I was really happy to discover that Bryon Airport and Buchannan Airfield are the only two Bay Area Test Sites for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Read more here.
Keith Freitas, the County Director of Airports, and Diane Burgis, the incoming Chair of the Board of Supervisors, are both pushing for this development. I think DVTI can help.
I connected with one drone tech CEO based in San Mateo who was unaware of these assets in Contra Costa. After setting up several meetings for him, it sounds like we're in the running for his expansion plan. We can rinse and repeat this process.
It's a good start to the year and I'm very excited to continue with this work in 2021.