The number one challenge retarding the growth of the San Antonio tech economy is a lack of suitably skilled people to fill available, well paying jobs, so the tech industry is taking action itself, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Geekdom, CyberTexas and SA Works are conducting a series of 'shadow days,' where high school and middle school students can see the wealth of opportunities that exist right in their home town.
Zac Levin, an executive with the local data backup start-up Jungle Disk, who moved to San Antonio from the UK, says many young people don't realize that their futures can be just as bright in San Antonio as they can in a place like Silicon Valley.
"We definitely think there is an ocean of opportunity and demand in this city and we are excited to be a part of filling that," he said.
One of the key players in the shadows days effort is the local Cyber Security industry.
Levin says a key to attracting young people into this growing field is to make sure they know that all tech jobs are not just geeks huddling over computers writing code, even though there are many of those jobs available. He says tech companies, like all other companies, require a wide variety of skills, from marketing to sales to accounting to legal.
"Our goal is to generate a real momentum in this city behind getting jobs in technology," he said. "We want to expose people to the jobs that are here."
San Antonio has experienced a major turnaround in the past decade, from being a net exporter of college educated young people to being one of the largest magnets for educated Millennials in the country.
The tech industry points not only to the growing cultural amenities in the city, but San Antonio's widely diverse young work force and a welcoming attitude. They point to the booming downtown, Pearl, and Southtown areas as places were young professionals can obtain that urban lifestyle without paying overly inflated housing prices.
Levin says shadow days are also an opportunity to fill in young teenagers on the skills they will need to acquire to be part of that experience.
"Give them a sense of the breadth of skills needed in technology, and the opportunities needed in different areas."
He says many of the teens will leave San Antonio for college or the military, but the key is to make sure they know that their home town will welcome them back with opportunities and a positive lifestyle after those experiences are done.