San Diego Cybersecurity & Defense Technology Sector Partnership Brief
How the scorecard works + component scores
Partnership Opportunity and Organizing Readiness use weighted 0–4 evidence dimensions converted to 0–100. 75–100 = High, 55–74 = Moderate, below 55 = Low.
Evidence Confidence: A = direct/current/authoritative; B = strong evidence with limited caveats; C = directional/proxy evidence with important limitations; D = weak, stale or poorly aligned; U = insufficient. The grade describes the evidence, not the sector.
Host Fit separately assesses backbone suitability across industry credibility, convening power, neutrality, staffing/resilience, worker/community connection, education/workforce integration, regional reach and fiscal/administrative capacity. It does not grant employer-governance authority.
Funding durability is a qualitative status, not another score. Screen 0 tests multi-employer structure, a shared workforce problem, collective-action leverage and Worker Value; a high numeric score never overrides a failed or materially unresolved gate.
Use the Cyber Center of Excellence as the industry ecosystem backbone. Deepen employer ownership of role priorities, paid work-based learning and placement rather than creating a second cyber council.
Why this case matters
San Diego's cyber employers share fast-changing skill requirements, defense-sector demand, resiliency needs and a common challenge connecting qualified talent to jobs. The existing ecosystem is large enough to coordinate those problems collectively.
Worker value
CCOE's 2025 study reports a $4.3 billion regional economic impact. Canonical exact occupation evidence also places software developers well above San Diego's living-wage benchmark, while lower-paid IT-support entry roles still need explicit advancement pathways.
The local pipeline already produces credentials and placements.
CCOE reports that, over two years, its workforce programs trained more than 200 participants, helped them earn 122 industry-recognized certifications, and placed 53 or more people into IT support or cybersecurity internships or jobs. The next step is to organize this activity around employer-owned priority role families and measure retention and progression.
CyberUp · St. Louis
CyberUp reports a 95% apprenticeship completion rate over 10 years and a current average post-apprenticeship wage of about $34/hour. The model is useful as a pathway engine: employer partnerships, short-term preparation, apprenticeship and measurable economic-mobility outcomes are tied together.
What a WDB or regional convener could do next
The sequence is intentionally staged. The partnership should only become more formal as employer ownership, worker value and shared action become more concrete.