www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 25 ber-one most commonly asked question to Joby. For now, there are only projections. But whenever that launch day comes, it will happen first in Los Angeles and New York City. Users will book a flight through an app, and be picked up by a vehicle that will transport them to the nearest vertiport, where an air taxi will be waiting for them. That aircraft will then transport the user to another vertiport closest to their destination, where another vehicle will be waiting to take them to where they want to go. Its service itself might be out of reach financially for many in Monterey County, if it ever comes here. But Joby plans to have a much larger impact on the region’s economy and workforce, something that business and government leaders are hoping to capitalize on. Advanced air mobility is expected to be an $80 billion industry globally by 2034. With Joby, Archer and other companies already doing business here, there’s economic opportunity to be had on the Central Coast should the growth follow projections. That’s where Monterey Bay DART comes in. The nonprofit DART (Drone, Automation and Robotics Technology) hopes to be the bridge that connects business with government, and ensure this burgeoning industry benefits the communities it’s based in. “Our goal has been to support Joby’s growth and to attract other companies as a result of that, demonstrating there’s a skilled workforce that can support them,” DART Executive Director Josh Metz says. The Central Coast, and Monterey County in particular, is known for its hospitality and agriculture industries— not so much its aircraft manufacturing workforce. “How are you going to grow an aircraft manufacturing company in an area without an aircraft manufacturing workforce?” Metz says he asked Joby early on. The answer from local leaders has been to help create that workforce. With support from the James Irvine Foundation, DART and Joby launched an apprenticeship program in 2022 that provides a six-month paid position for local residents to be trained on manufacturing, maintenance and other entry-level jobs in the aerospace realm. Since its launch, more than 70 people have gone through the program, including farmworkers, automotive technicians and seamstresses, and many landed a full-time job at Joby after their apprenticeship ended. Monterey County Works and Joby also organize a summer internship program, recruiting four paid interns in 2025 working in such areas as airframe assembly, IT and tool design. These efforts were on display during the LIFT Summit in March. The event, organized by DART, brought together leaders from the aerospace industry, government agencies, economic development organizations and the educational realm with the focus on boosting the local aerospace industry as a way to drive the economy. The three-day event began with a tour of the Marina and Salinas airports, where attendees were given demonstrations of advanced air mobility and uncrewed aerial systems operations, before wrapping up with panel discussions at the Monterey Conference Center. Metz says the rebranded summit had its strongest attendance yet, driven by the growing interest in the fields regionally and globally. A theme emerged among the panels from the summit: The talent is here locally to sustain the aviation workforce—the key now is to not only encourage outside companies to set up shop here, but also prove to locals that such pathways can lead to successful careers. Earlier this year, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, working with Joby, DART and others, announced the creation of a new Career Technical Education program, where students will build a Van’s RV-12 airplane from scratch. The program, which launched in the fall semester and takes place at the Watsonville Municipal Airport, further cultivates a local aircraft manufacturing workforce. “It’s going to stimulate young people,” Metz says. “If this is successful, we hope it’s of interest to a lot of different schools.” It’s not just schools, but many big players—companies like Toyota and Uber, the U.S. Air Force—are already betting on Joby’s future. As a pioneer in a new industry, questions about which players will stay in the sky and which will be grounded remain unanswered. It gets the industry one step closer to commercial service. $2450 $ 1399 $32 Quality feed & pet supplies • DIY dog & cat vaccines • Premium hay at great prices Low cost vaccination clinic for dogs & cats. Microchipping. Prescription flea/tick medication. Open every Saturday 1:30pm-4:30pm. 101 W. 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