Big news for the Capital Region’s growing biotechnology and biomanufacturing ecosystem.
California Jobs First has awarded $7.3 million to launch the Capital Biomanufacturing Alliance (CAPBIO), a coordinated regional investment connecting commercialization and capital, production infrastructure, and workforce development. Its goal is to help biotechnology companies start, stay, and grow in the Capital Region.
The program is anchored by Valley Vision, UC ANR, and Sierra College. It is supported by the Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC), AgStart, UC Davis, the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Wexford Science & Technology, Capitol Impact, Los Rios Community College District, and others.
Our Role: Workforce Development
Capitol Impact is excited to serve as a workforce development project partner alongside Sierra College and Los Rios Community College District. This builds on several years of work organizing employers, talent providers, and public agencies, and on advancing real-time, demand-driven talent solutions with Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) as our North Star.
Want the full story of how we got here? Read our 2024–2026 Biotech TPM Report.
What’s Next: From Pilot to Scale
Over the next two years, we’ll help move this work from initial pilot to scale and sustainability. Our focus areas include:
- Institutionalizing and expanding the Capital Region Biotech Talent Pipeline Management Collaborative, keeping employers at the center of identifying talent needs and shaping the solutions our growing sector requires.
- Advancing a regional talent finance strategy and investment model for critical biotechnology and biomanufacturing careers, building on planning already underway with employers and regional workforce development boards.
- Scaling adoption of biotechnology Career Pathway Maps, available in five languages, to help more students and jobseekers see and navigate industry-aligned pathways into the sector.
- Expanding the region’s first biomanufacturing registered apprenticeship program to additional employers, and building the infrastructure for it to endure and grow.
Coming Together at the CAPBIO Summit
The momentum was on full display at the CAPBIO Summit, where about 200 people gathered at Aggie Square to advance a unified future for the Capital Region’s already world-class biotech, biomanufacturing, and life science ecosystem. Attendees expanded their networks, connected dots, explored new regional storytelling assets, and learned how to collectively capitalize on the region’s unique strengths while mobilizing resources around real needs.
One highlight was who showed up. Attendees came not only from the eight-county Capital Region but from regions across California, fostering peer-to-peer learning and deeper, win-win strategic alliances. Partners and supporters made the trip from across the state, all working toward a shared goal: growing each region’s unique ecosystem while keeping the Golden State the place to start, stay, and grow, for both companies and the workforce.
The summit was also a fitting bookend. It wrapped up this phase of our Capital Region Biotech Talent Partnership work through We Prosper Together, while springboarding us into the next 24 months under the newly announced CAPBIO program. We’ll continue our talent work there, scaling inclusive, accessible talent pipelines to high-wage, high-growth jobs.
The groundwork is in place. Now, it’s time to scale.