Laying the Groundwork for a Bay Area Career Readiness Pilot

With the support of Sobrato Philanthropies, California Competes is exploring the possibility of launching a cross-sector career readiness pilot program that galvanizes and connects colleges and local government in the Bay Area. 

California Competes has already had success in advancing career readiness efforts with Compton College, where we assessed workforce efforts, organizational structure, and processes. The work was highly valued, and recommendations were integrated into the college’s strategic plan and accountability metrics. The results were impactful and propelled three other community colleges in the same supervisorial district to engage and participate in the pilot, allowing campus restructuring across a region that will be optimized for boosting residents’ educational success and workforce outcomes. 

Since the Bay Area has several mico-regions, each with its own unique ecosystem and diverse community needs, California Competes seeks partners who understand the principles and value of institutional restructuring that weaves career readiness across student’s postsecondary experiences, and have the capacity to do so. 

By the end of 2023, California Competes will identify a Bay Area cohort and lay the foundation for the launch of the pilot program. The pilot program will involve identifying and strengthening external partnerships between colleges, employers, and local and regional government efforts, as well as identifying policy reforms necessary to advance community colleges’ workforce efforts.

We are excited to collaborate with like-minded organizations in our efforts to create innovative solutions that will promote career readiness across the Bay Area. If this sounds like a college or government contact you know, please connect with Senior Researcher David Radwin.