Joby Aviation was in the midst of expanding their production capacity and wanted to stay near their R&D roots in Marina, CA, but there wasn’t an existing advanced manufacturing talent pool or training program to meet their needs. When they shared this challenge with their local industry development group, Monterey Bay DART (Drone Automation Robotics Technology), they developed the Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program (AMAP), an apprenticeship earn-and-learn pilot to train local workers for the advanced manufacturing role. AMAP was brought to life with support from theIrvine Foundation and tapped into local talent pools with the help of DART and local community-based organizations (CBOs).
As these cross-sector partners got to know each other’s roles, strengths, and needs, they outlined how local CBOs, who historically hadn’t been connected to the private sector, could source and prepare talent. CBO representatives toured the Joby facility to better understand what the job looked like in action and provided feedback on how to make the job description more accessible to local community members by removing industry jargon and reframing core skills. CBOs engaged their networks, explaining the training program, the job, and Joby and identifying compatible skills and experiences that could demonstrate aptitude for the role. Through this education and engagement, dozens of community members who did not previously see themselves reflected in the industry applied for the program.
Sourcing talent from the local community was a pivot for Joby, which had mainly been hiring for technical engineering roles in their R&D phase. Building this apprenticeship program required input from supervisors and staff in the advanced manufacturing role to articulate the core skills, develop a curriculum, and identify hands-on experiences to prepare workers new to the industry to succeed on the job.
AMAP has been so successful for Joby that it has become their de facto way of hiring for the region, expanding to other job functions and roles. Joby has shifted some of their onboarding, communication, and feedback processes to support a broad range of employees to succeed on the job, improving retention and advancement outcomes. One example of a practice shift was adding a second day of onboarding to cover the whole range of manufacturing processes at Joby and tour the facility so that new employees had a better understanding of the entire organization and their role within it.
This ecosystem approach to talent sourcing and development has not only helped Joby in its 690-worker growth trajectory in the region, but also continues to extend its impact into other sectors, community college partnerships, and even state policy. DART is working with local community colleges and other employers and sectors within their focus area of drones, automation, robots, and technology to develop a range of earn-and-learn models to help local industries meet their talent needs while also increasing access to quality careers for local workers. This approach is good for business, good for inclusive economic development, and good for workers.
Read more about this emerging story and specific learnings for participating sectors in our case study and role guides here.
