Latest News

Attention all Santa Cruz County youth! METRO is excited to announce our new Youth Cruz Free program, which provides free bus rides for all youth, grades K-12.

This program is part of METRO's commitment to making transportation accessible for everyone in our community. METRO believes that reliable and affordable transportation is essential to helping young people thrive and succeed.

So whether you need to get to school, after-school programs, jobs, or just want to explore all that Santa Cruz has to offer, take advantage of the Youth Cruz Free program and ride with us. Let's get moving!

—Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District

In Santa Cruz county, Goodwill Central Coast offers Pathways to Employment job readiness workshops designed specifically for individuals reentering the workforce post-incarceration. These workshops focus on highlighting skills gained during incarceration and enable individuals to fill in work history gaps while promoting self-advocacy during the interview process.

Individuals gain skills for long-term employment, develop a strong work ethic, build confidence, and promote proper workplace behavior. These workshops will help you obtain and retain employment! Contact Laura Contreras today to sign up: lcontreras@ccgoodwill.org

—Goodwill Central Coast

In as soon as three years, some Santa Cruz City Schools staff and teachers could find themselves in district-owned workforce housing — and paying just 60 to 70% of market rent.

The district was given the green light in November to move forward with the project after voters approved Measures K and L, which directs $371 million toward upgrading the district’s elementary, middle and high schools.

—Lookout Santa Cruz

Don't forget! The Whiting's Foods Hiring Pop-Up is just days away. Stop by on Sunday for fun, food, and an instant interview to secure your summer job!

—Whiting's Foods

A seven- and eight-story, 276-unit rental housing complex at Front Street and Soquel Avenue in Downtown Santa Cruz is expected to be considered by the Santa Cruz Planning Commission on March 2.

The developer, Swenson Builder, has asked city leaders to consider a plan that is two stories taller than its initial plans in 2020. The site at 530 Front St. has been a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage bank. The intersection now includes Oswald’s restaurant and parking lots for CVS pharmacy and New Leaf Community Market.

The development will include some low income and very low income units.

—Santa Cruz Local

Are you someone who's always been interested in working with your hands and building things? Do you dream of a career in the construction industry but need help knowing where to start? We understand that breaking into a new industry can be challenging, so we're excited to tell you about the Building Trades Program offered by Watsonville/Aptos/Santa Cruz Adult Education.

The team designed the program to give aspiring builders and tradespeople the foundation they need to succeed in the construction industry. You'll learn all the fundamentals, from handling tools and materials to reading blueprints and doing basic math. But we know that there's more to success than just technical skills. So the program also emphasizes the soft skills essential in any job - teamwork, communication, and professionalism.

Register: https://lnkd.in/gucj43bT

—Watsonville Aptos Adult Education

Exciting news! Google's Workforce team empowers people of all backgrounds to access good jobs. Google creates new career advancement opportunities through professional certificates, apprenticeships, and innovative resources. Let's work towards building a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone has the chance to succeed.

—Google

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

Reminder: this is the last week to apply! Both scholarship applications and CTE Showcase Competition submissions must be in by Feb 10th!

Are you or do you know a Santa Cruz County high school student applying for scholarships? Check out the YFIOB Scholarships like this one that will be presented at our annual Luncheon this March.

The Career Exploration Scholarship is open to all 10th, 11th and 12th graders. Simply submit an essay describing how you would use the money to explore career opportunities, a short 1 min video explaining how you would use the money and a letter of recommendation.

You don't want to miss out on this chance to win $1,000 towards your career exploration!

—Your Future Is Our Business

Click below to view new and existing career opportunities.

—County of Santa Cruz

FYI, a couple new jobs recently got added to the jobs board!

—Santa Cruz Works

Are you or do you know a Santa Cruz County high school student applying for scholarships? Check out the YFIOB Scholarships like this one that will be presented at the Annual Luncheon this March.

The CTE Scholarship is open to all 10th, 11th, and 12th graders that are currently enrolled in a CTE Class. Simply submit an essay (500 words or less) describing your CTE experience OR submit a short video (3 min or less) by FEB 10th 2023.

You don't want to miss out on this chance to win $500 towards your career exploration!

—Your Future Is Our Business

SCORE Mentors Central Coast remains dedicated to their mission of fostering vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education. If you're in need of expert business advice, SCORE is here for you:

Find a Mentor: https://lnkd.in/gh4-6Ry6
Take a Workshop: https://lnkd.in/gC_Za42T

Reach out to SCORE Mentors Central Coast for additional resources to help start, grow, or transition your business.

(photo) SCORE client, Cheryl Smith, owner of Consider It Done Transition Services.

—SCORE Central Coast

A Disaster Resource Center opens today at the Felton Library, 6121 Gushee Street, to assist storm survivors with recovery resources. The site will be open 7 days/week from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. Reps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), Environmental Health, Human Services, and Planning will be on hand.

—San Lorenzo Valley Post

Click below to view new and existing career opportunities.

—County of Santa Cruz

Are you curious to learn about financing opportunities for your small business? From finding a lender to financial incentives and everything in between, check out the "Funding, Grants & Incentives" tab on the CalOSBA website today.​

—California Office of the Small Business Advocate

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

Wednesday, January 11, 2023: Don't Miss this Event!

Meet Joby Aviation, Zero Motorcycles, Ambient Photonics, Paystand, Cruz Foam, Parallel Flight, Climatize, and Innovation Within. Learn about their product and hiring plans for 2023. Enjoy live music, networking, and food. Rain or shine, start the year with these top companies.

—Santa Cruz Works

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

Happy first Wednesday of 2023! Below are current career opportunities and we need your help in filling these roles.

—County of Santa Cruz

Feeling overwhelmed in your job search? Job development and training are at the heart of what Goodwill does. They work closely with their community partners and can refer you to programs based on your specific needs and interests. They even offer training opportunities for in-demand positions and subsidized employment, opening up more possibilities for your career.

—Goodwill Central Coast

Women's Business Centers help entrepreneurs across America access capital, business training, contracting assistance, and more to help them start and grow businesses.

—U.S. Small Business Administration

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

If you know of someone who needs broadband connectivity and meets the criteria (income, enrollment in a federal assistance program), please tell them about the federal ACP program. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

—County of Santa Cruz

Goodwill Central Coast helps people just like you through education, training, and employment services. We work hard to build lives, families, and communities by removing obstacles to employment and helping you reach your goals through meaningful work.

—Goodwill Central Coast

The Santa Cruz County SBDC has a lot in store for the new year! They are bringing back some of their reoccurring webinars and have a whole batch of new ones.

Additionally, they have created FREE power hours to help business owners have more access to our expert advisors! Bilingual Marketing Power Hours are on a first-come, first-served basis, and the goal is for their marketing advisors to answer any quick challenges or questions you may be facing in your business. They will take place Wednesdays weekly at 12PM.

—Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center

If so, Goodwill Central Coast can help you achieve economic self-sufficiency through job training and placement.

—Goodwill Central Coast

Give back to the students of your community this holiday season!

Donating to YFIOB is donating to local students! 100% of proceeds go directly towards helping YFIOB continue to link Santa Cruz County students to career exploration opportunities.

Make a difference in the lives of our youth by donating today.

—Your Future Is Our Business

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approves General Plan/Local Coastal Program updates.

—Santa Cruz Sentinel

Join the SBA's California District Offices TODAY at 2PM for this FREE webinar to teach you how to manage and pay your COVID EIDL.

Learn how to register for CAFS to find out when your loan is due, how much your payment is, track your loan balance, and get other important information you need to manage your loan. This event includes a Q & A session with SBA experts.

No registration is required.

—Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center

About four dozen people were on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking of an 80-unit affordable housing complex off Atkinson Lane on Nov. 18.

In his opening remarks, MidPen Housing President and CEO Matt Franklin said that creating affordable housing communities like Pippin Orchards II is a “journey.” “And in this case, there’s so much partnership, and collective work and collective purpose that came together to create this incredible opportunity,” Franklin said.

—Pajaronian

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

Full speed ahead! City of Santa Cruz voters resoundingly supported moving forward with the Downtown Library and Affordable Housing Project, including 124 affordable housing units and a new, world-class (and green!) library!

—City of Santa Cruz

FYI, a couple new jobs recently got added to the jobs board!

—Santa Cruz Works

Congratulations to Dientes Community Dental Care and Santa Cruz Community Health on the official ribbon cutting and opening of a new state-of-the-art health center and dental clinic!

These new facilities will provide access to quality health care to local families for years to come.

—United Way of Santa Cruz County

Planning ahead will help you get a jump on the competition. In this class, you will learn about social media marketing trends that will impact you in 2023! Join Karen Kefauver to address the best ways to be on Facebook vs. other platforms.

—Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center

Create a more productive work environment by adding a team-building experience to your next conference. Whether you’re looking for an adrenaline-packed adventure or a more introspective exercise for your group, Santa Cruz County offers a variety of activities for your team to bond outside of the meeting room.

—Visit Santa Cruz

The Winter Art Market is a free family-friendly event at the Tannery Arts Center, featuring over a dozen open artist studios with gifts for the holidays, guest artists, live music, food and beverage vendors, holiday activities for children and adults, and new public art installations on the Tannery campus.

—City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Department

étre Venture Capital, a new firm based in Santa Cruz, has a goal to increase venture capital investment outside of Silicon Valley and major metropolitan areas, and among underserved communities, including those led by women and minorities. étre seeks to bring capital to innovative startups that solve the some of the most important problems of our times.

—Santa Cruz Works

Jobseekers: Sign up to receive via email at https://workforcescc.com/.

Employers: Email businessrep@workforcescc.com to post your open positions.

—Workforce Santa Cruz County

On November 4, 2022, Joby Aero, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Joby Aviation, Inc., entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Frederick Electronics Corporation, a Maryland corporation and Plantronics, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Joby agreed to purchase certain real property, improvements and other assets from the Seller for a purchase price of $25,500,000.

—Santa Cruz Works

With the possibility of a recession in 2023, many of the large Silicon Valley businesses have warned of pending layoffs. Facebook / Meta cut 11,000 jobs Wednesday in the biggest tech layoff of 2022. The tech industry has seen a string of layoffs this year in the face of uncertain economic conditions. Layoffs come as digital advertisers are cutting back on spending and rising inflation curbs consumer spending. By some estimates, as many as 45,000 job cuts will smack our northern cousins. The pandemic caused many businesses to expand hiring during 2019-20 as they increased online commerce. And now the party is over.

—Santa Cruz Works

The region's cash flow and inventory expert, Larry Hebert, has assembled the best of the best in terms of holiday retail advice to get that cash register ringing, owners' draws increasing and boost your overall cash flow to have a rock'n holiday!

For you retailers, the holiday season is already underway, so with TIP #2's focus of properly forecasting your sales, Larry has singled out 3-steps to do it right.

—Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center

Ambient celebrates the groundbreaking of their state-of-the-art, low-light solar cell manufacturing facility in Scotts Valley, California. The 43,000-square foot high volume facility is one of the largest low-light indoor energy harvesting technology factories in the world.

“The Scotts Valley factory groundbreaking is a major milestone as we prove that both the U.S. and California can be leaders in the manufacturing of decarbonization technologies for the world.” - Bates Marshall, CEO of Ambient Photonics.

Our $48.5 million Series A funding and accelerated factory construction timeline have positioned us to serve the high demand for high power density solar cells for connected device manufacturers - reducing the carbon footprint of consumer products by up to 80% by eliminating disposal batteries.

—Ambient Photonics

More than 700 Santa Cruz County students are registered to attend, representing 16 local high schools.

Students will go through a five-minute safety talk prior to entering the exhibit hall. There will be over 18 stations that will showcase local private and public construction agencies.

Stations will feature hands-on experiences for students, such as using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping and a virtual reality flight simulator, as well as building a wooden cell phone stand. Also, on hand will be concrete mixers, a camera-equipped “sewer van”, a garbage truck and collection demonstration, and more. Students will also compete for prizes in a nail driving contest.

—Construction Industry Education Foundation

Accessing Capital for Early Stage Companies and Start-ups is designed for new companies looking to raise their first outside money. Join NorCal SBDC along with a panel of experts for their webinar, "Accessing Capital for Early Stage Businesses".

11/8/2022
10:30am-12:00pm

—Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center

Interested in learning about the latest startups?

Make sure you register for New Tech! We've got quite a lineup of startups you'll want to learn about.

Free to attend.

—Santa Cruz Works