In California’s ‘Lithium Valley,’ students are training for jobs that haven’t yet materialized
Erin Rode
June 16, 2026
In the southeastern corner of the state, colleges quickly created workforce training programs in response to a promised new lithium industry. Years later, they’re still waiting for jobs to arrive.
When Imperial Valley College launched a new program training students to become plant operators and technicians in the emerging lithium industry, Corban Dillon enrolled in the inaugural class.
He’d spent the first part of his career working for his family’s courier business in this part of southeastern California, but it faltered after the pandemic and the death of his father. Dillon hoped the new certificate program would give him a leg up as the industry grew to meet demand for lithium, a key mineral in the country’s clean energy transition.
But when he completed his certificate in spring 2024, lithium jobs weren’t available yet. So when the community college launched a second certificate option the following year, Dillon joined the first class of that program too. He finished that certificate last year — but the lithium industry still hadn’t caught up. Now, he’s enrolled in his third lithium certificate and will finish in December. Hundreds of anticipated jobs related to lithium extraction likely still won’t be available by then.
