May 2016

Strong Workforce Support in Op-Eds

	Preparing Workers in California at the Speed of Business by Steve Westly, founder of The Westly Group and former controller and chief fiscal officer of the state of California, and Dr. Jack Scott, former chancellor of the California Community Colleges system
	Building a Stronger Workforce to Compete Globally by Bill Mueller, chief executive of Valley Vision, and Doug Houston, chancellor of the Yuba Community College District

In this issue you will also find:

Apprenticeships Get Another $90M Boost from DOL

White House Announces $100M Competition to Expand Tuition-Free Community College

White House Names Sacramento a Founding Health Career Pathways Community

Inland Empire's New InTech Center to Build Skilled Workers for Advanced Manufacturing Sector

CTE Data Unlocked: Find it. Understand it. Use it.

DRAFT Guidance on the Administration of the $200M Strong Workforce Program

Grant Opportunities

Apprenticeships Get Another $90M Boost from DOL

The Department of Labor announced $90 million in new investments through ApprenticeshipUSA to expand Registered Apprenticeship:

$60 million to support state strategies to expand Registered Apprenticeship, including funding for regional industry partnerships and innovative strategies that diversify apprenticeship locally.
$30 million to catalyze industry partnerships in fast-growing and high-tech industries, to support organizations focused on increasing diversity, and to launch national efforts to make it easier for employers to start and for workers to find apprenticeship opportunities.

Learn more here.

White House Announces $100M Competition to Expand Tuition-Free Community College

America's Promise Job-Driven Training grants (America's Promise Grants), a plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students, has been expanded by $100 million. An H-1B-funded grant competition by the Department of Labor will be launched in the summer with the goal of creating and expanding innovative regional and sector partnerships between community colleges and other training providers, employers, and the public workforce system to create more dynamic, tuition-free education and training programs for in-demand middle- and high-skilled jobs across the country.

Free community college programs in California are already underway at College of the Siskiyous, San Diego Community College District, Santa Barbara City College and the cities of Los Angeles and Oakland.

Learn more here.

White House Names Sacramento a Founding Health Career Pathways Community

Sacramento is one of seven founding Health Career Pathways communities nationwide that will adopt a common health care career pathways model, supporting more than 1,000 disadvantaged Americans with training and placement into jobs.

California Community Colleges will join a collaborative with Dignity Health, Sutter Health, UC Davis Health System, Kaiser Permanente, local workforce boards, and intermediaries to increase the regional supply of skilled health care professionals. Work completed in Sacramento will inform the workforce agenda of the California Hospital Association and serve as a model and best practice for the state. Read more here.

Or, contact Linda Zorn, statewide director and sector navigator for the Health Workforce Initiative.

Inland Empire's New InTech Center to Build Skilled Workers for Advanced Manufacturing Sector

The Industrial Technical Learning Center (InTech Center), a technical jobs learning center developed by a regional consortium of educational, government and business partners, opened March 23. This first-of-its-kind training center is designed to fill the critical skills gap for manufacturing companies and is located on the campus of California Steel Industries, Inc. (CSI) in Fontana. Available programs are conducted at no cost to employers and employees due to a competitive Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant. It is projected that the InTech Center will have an economic impact of more than $1B to the Inland Empire region.

Learn more here.

CTE Data Unlocked: Find it. Understand it. Use it.

CTE Data Unlocked, part of the Chancellor's Office actions on the Strong Workforce Task Force recommendations, will help colleges find, understand, and use CTE data. By providing tools, training, technical assistance and funding, CTE Data Unlocked will support the development of regional workforce plans, prepare for $200 million in new CTE funding that will be available in 2017, and strengthen local processes like program review, accreditation, and integrated planning.

"CTE Data Unlocked is helping to build the data conversation(s) that are so important during the college decision-making and assessment process," said Dr. Matthews Roberts, dean of field operations for the Workforce and Economic Development Division of California Community Colleges. "It's incredible to watch college teams dive into data tools at CTE Data Unlocked and 'Find it. Understand it. Use it.'"

DRAFT Guidance on the Administration of the $200M Strong Workforce Program

Please read this draft memo providing guidance on disbursement and implementation of the Strong Workforce Program funds based on the current trailer bill language. This memo will be revised when the bill language is finalized.