Campaign seeks to attract professionals to the city For those of us who live and work in the City of Carlsbad and appreciate its many treasures, it can be hard to understand why someone would hesitate to move here for a job or business opportunity. But our business community sometimes loses out when trying to recruit talent because a prime candidate may not be certain where Carlsbad is or has doubts about moving to California. The City of Carlsbad believes that its success stories need to be told, and attracting more bright, talented professionals who can enjoy our community’s vibrancy and quality of life is an important goal, so we have developed a talent attraction campaign to benefit our businesses. Our campaign will be branded “Life in Action,” and will highlight that Carlsbad is the perfect mix of exceptional weather, active lifestyle, innovative companies and dedicated professionals. The campaign will emphasize why so many of us are here and why professional prospects should place Carlsbad first on their list of desirable places to work. We really do live a life in action in Carlsbad. We have the ideal climate for running, surfing and bicycling; we are home to four championship golf courses; we have more than 25 beautiful parks and other areas where our kids can play soccer, tennis, softball and basketball; and we have 46 miles of trails where we can unwind after a busy work day. Our consultant, ChandlerThinks, developed the “Life in Action” theme after surveying 300 to 400 local stakeholders to get an idea of the problem. The City of Carlsbad’s Economic Development Division and our consultant have spent several months collaborating with our local business community to fine-tune the campaign, and we’ve received great buy-in. The city will provide materials to our local business community using the “Life In Action” theme, which our businesses can provide to their job candidates. Much of the information addresses concerns that our business community has been hearing, such as that California is too expensive. Our information will point out that the City of Carlsbad compares favorably with many of our competition when all living expenses are taken into account, and the cost of living here can be much less than elsewhere. Our elementary schools are among the best in the country; we have access to six colleges and universities within a 30-mile radius; and we have three airports within a 50-mile radius. Our wonderful city also offers numerous cultural and culinary delights, is a center of the action sports industry, including golf, and is part of the second largest life sciences industry in the nation. All of these help explain why we enjoy an exceptionally high quality of life in Carlsbad. The campaign also is a nod to two of our largest industry clusters, the life sciences and action sports. But the campaign won’t leave out our other strong industry clusters, cleantech; information, communications and technologies; and entertainment and hospitality. We’re disseminating this information through several different formats, including brochures for our local businesses to distribute, and social media. We’ll work with our local businesses and our regional partners, such as the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the San Diego North Economic Development Council, and with other business associations to distribute the “Life in Action” message. People are the most important factor in whether a business succeeds or fails; attracting the right people and employing them in the right positions is pivotal to a business’ success. The city will do its part to attract the talented people who help keep Carlsbad the special place it is. Visit: Life in Action