Santa Barbara City College, the SBCC Foundation, and Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara (CFSB) have been awarded a Catalyst Pre Development Phase grant from the Uplift Central Coast Coalition through the State’s California Jobs First program.
The two-year initiative, called The Ocean Collective: A Consortium to Develop a Diverse and Climate-Resilient Blue Economy for the Central Coast, will support the design of new facilities at SBCC and the creation of a workforce training pipeline that engages area high schools, community colleges, universities, and blue economy employers.
The blue economy encompasses sustainable ocean-based industries including commercial fisheries, aquaculture, coastal restoration, renewable energy, and advanced technologies in desalination and ocean sensors.
“With gratitude to the Uplift Central Coast Coalition through the state’s California Jobs First program and our Ocean Collective partners, SBCC will lead the way in enhancing the blue economy in Santa Barbara County,” said SBCC Superintendent/President Erika Endrijonas.
“This grant takes us one step closer to expanding our local economy and developing yet another sustainable workforce pipeline. We are excited to get to work,” she said.
The Ocean Collective, an initiative founded by Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara (CFSB), was developed in partnership with SBCC, the city of Santa Barbara and Economic Development Collaborative (EDC).
“Around the country, working waterfronts are finding deep positive impacts from pursuing industry-academic partnerships, like what we’ve designed with the Ocean Collective, to expand critically needed infrastructure and workforce training to support the next generation,” said Kim Selkoe, executive director of CFSB and project co-lead.
A recent Labor Market Analysis by the Economic Forecast Project reports some 40,000 blue economy jobs in Santa Barbara County, with projected economic output of $41 billion over the next five years.
“The Channel Islands and the local coastline have supported rich and innovative maritime cultures for millennia,” SBCC said. “Creating new opportunities and access to ocean-based jobs for tribal communities is a priority of the Ocean Collective.”
Project supporters include the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, California State University Channel Islands, Carpinteria High School, UC Santa Barbara, and the Central Coastal Resilient Food Systems Community of Practice.
The Ocean Collective will be headquartered on SBCC’s campus, adjacent to California’s top port for seafood production, Santa Barbara Harbor.
The location is designed to allow Ocean Collective to expand SBCC’s existing programs to meet emerging blue economy industry needs; develop new port-adjacent facilities such as boat, gear and cold storage, seafood processing, machine shops, and wet labs; and develop technical assistance for programs tailored to ocean-related business in partnership with the Small Business Development Center.