SMALL, SKILLED SPECIALTY SHOPS SEEN AS SOLUTION GRANTS, TRAINING ALSO KEY TO GET GOOD JOBS BACK.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Assembly line jobs helped turn the San Fernando Valley's sprawling farmland of the 1930s and '40s into a vibrant, middle-class community after World War II. Now there's a plan to make manufacturing jobs - which have declined sharply over the past three decades - a key part of the region's economic future.

Area business groups and cities are setting aside years of hand-wringing over job losses and cut-throat tactics to retain factories in their towns. Instead, they're banding together to attract high-paying assembly jobs.

Operating under a unified development plan, a recently formed coalition of nonprofit, academic and government groups will work to maintain the manufacturing and industrial base that fueled the Valley's growth for the last half century.

``We've always believed that we've got the beach, we've got the sun, jobs will just come,'' said Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center. ``That's great, but it's not going to get real jobs to come here.''

His private, nonprofit group based in Van Nuys has partnered with the cities of Burbank, Lancaster, San Fernando and Santa Clarita and Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla and College of the Canyons to try to create those elusive, high-wage blue-collar jobs. With a recently completed comprehensive economic development strategy, known as a CEDS, the entities plan to work together to attract federal grants to establish new, small manufacturers and help retain the remaining shops.

While the area no longer boasts so many large-scale production jobs, the plan's backers believes it can survive by producing small, specialty products such as extremely detailed aerospace parts or premium, high-end automotive components.

Its goals include upgrading existing sites and identifying new areas for small producers, providing existing companies with advice and capital support to keep them from relocating out of state and off-shore. Using grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration - which requires a CEDS plan before it doles out funds - the groups plan to provide support to academic institutions to train new workers and offer credit to local residents and businesses to encourage entrepreneurship.

To ensure that communities can continue to support the jobs created by the efforts, the plan also calls for the expansion of local affordable housing.

``For the first time I can remember, I was sitting in the same room with people from Burbank, people from Santa Clarita, people from San Fernando,'' said Raul Bocanegra, Padilla's economic development deputy. ``We used to operate in spite of each other, but now we're talking about bringing in high-paying jobs together.''

While it's a good first step, it'll take much more to overcome the myriad challenges faced by local manufacturers, according to Bob Scott, chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

Scott, who works with VEDC through both VICA and the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said he supports the group's efforts, he said the state's burdensome workers' compensation system, high cost of living and its general ``hostile business'' climate can not be overcome by grant money alone.

``I don't think it's enough to make up for the problems people have in the jurisdiction,'' Scott said. ``We've got to change the minds of the people we have in office. People considering moving jobs to California won't just look at the incentives, they'll do all the math. Lots of them, once they do that math, will choose to go somewhere else.''

Valencia's College of the Canyons hopes to attract federal dollars with a proposal to create a manufacturing incubator on campus, offering training, capital access and space for small, budding companies. By collaborating with the other entities, the college can draw upon resources from across the region, rather than fighting with them as they try to lure successful companies away.

While it awaits a response from the EDA to its request for funds, the college has launched a ``virtual incubator,'' providing all the training but without the physical space for companies to start up.

``All of the entities share a common overriding goal: to ensure northern Los Angeles County is a good place for business and residents,'' said Dena Maloney, the college's dean of economic development. ``We'll see more jobs created with a technology element that cut across aerospace, biotech, bio-med and film. The region will create more and more jobs that are high skill and highly paid.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com