SAN DIEGO–Local community leaders joined elected officials to celebrate San Diego Workforce Partnership’s new headquarter offices with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house in Kearny Mesa.

On hand to celebrate the big day were San Diego Workforce Partnership CEO Peter Callstrom; Chief Operating Officer Andy Hall; Board Chairman Phil Blair; City of San Diego Councilmember Chris Cate ( District 6), and San Diego County Board Supervisor Greg Cox.

Councilmember Chris Cate welcomed San Diego Workforce Partnership to Kearny Mesa with a City of San Diego proclamation to Callstrom.

“The partnership between the City of San Diego and the Workforce Partnership is amazing. All the different programs empowering communities, empowering individuals to obtain job skills and develop that relationship of those seeking work and our employers here in San Diego,” Councilman Cate said.

The organization’s leaders hosted a tour of the facility which included multiple office spaces, a kitchen, conference room and a community room on the first level.

San Diego Workforce Partnership expects to save the organization $320,000 in rent in 2019 and $6 million over the course of the next fifteen years. All savings will be directly reinvested into services for job seekers and employers – supporting the organization’s mission to meet current and future workforce needs in San Diego, organizers said.

“We moved into this new location with a much better lease arrangement and we’re going to save a lot more money going forward with overhead which is critical,” San Diego Workforce Partnership CEO Peter Callstrom said.

Attendees at the San Diego Workforce Partnership grand opening tour the new offices in Kearny Mesa. Photo: Gina Yarbrough/San Diego County News

Before the move, City Heights has been the home of San Diego Workforce Partnership for about 10 to 12 years, according to Callstrom.

The new location will have about 80 staffers overseeing job training programs for San Diego job seekers.

Since 1974, San Diego Workforce Partnership has funded and delivered job training programs that enable all job seekers to develop the skills and knowledge needed for in-demand careers.

The organization also provides ongoing labor market research on the region’s workforce trends and key industries. Its vision is to ensure that every business in the San Diego region has access to a skilled workforce and every job seeker has access to meaningful employment.

For more information, visit workforce.org.