SAN ANTONIO – Despite the fact that there have been many careers that have taken a hit during this pandemic year, there’s one line of work that’s booming: Manufacturing.
According to SA Works and the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, there are 51,000 manufacturing positions available right now in the San Antonio-New Braunfels area, with an average salary of $67,000.
Manufacturing jobs that are available right now include first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, helpers-production workers, inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, weighers, production workers, miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators.
SA Works advises anyone who’s interested in manufacturing to be on the look out for openings at Crete Carrier Corp., H-E-B, Pizza Hut (Desert De Oro food manufacturing), Healthcare Services Group, Inc. and Treehouse Foods, Inc.
“Our region’s manufacturing sector includes automotive, aerospace, food and medical manufacturing,” said Romanita Matta-Barrera, SA Works executive director. “The diversification within the sector has been a critical factor to the varying job opportunities and resilience of this sector. Over the past two years, SAEDF has aided in the economic growth of San Antonio by attracting large scale, global operations in manufacturing to our region. This growth has created a greater sense of urgency to drive awareness of these good-paying jobs that also offer career growth.”
According to the San Antonio Economic Indicators newsletter, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas on Dec. 1, manufacturing saw a 15.3% growth in jobs, or 1,780 jobs, in the three-month period from August through October this year.
Skills for manufacturing include warehousing, packing and labeling, food safety, machine operation, auditing, customer service, attention to detail, management, operations and communications.
The top hiring occupations in manufacturing and skilled trades only require a high school diploma or equivalent as the minimum level of education, according to SA Works. While the manufacturing positions are highly skilled, employers understand that these skills can be taught in the workplace. More importantly, manufacturers are looking for workers who are willing to learn new skills, solve problems and be part of a team.
The goal of SA Works has been to integrate new programs and partnerships that strengthen access to education, employment and upskilling of our region’s talent pipeline.
To learn more about SA Works or to apply for a manufacturing position, click or tap here.