Vision

The State of California will have a regional structure that supports the community colleges to effectively deliver community college education and training programs, economic and workforce development services, and related functions. This approach optimizes the state’s goals of 1. workforce preparation that meets labor market demands, and 2. community economic vitality by addressing future workforce and economic development needs.   A sector approach, based on current data and analysis, will be developed and utilized by each region to increase responsiveness to their unique configuration of workforce and economic development needs.  In partnership with a regional steering committee, the regional structure will enhance the impact of state and federal funds identified for workforce and economic development.

What Currently Exists?

Within the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and under the Vice Chancellor of Economic Development and Workforce Preparation three separate entities exist: Career and Technical Education (CTE), the Economic & Workforce Development Program (EWDP) and Nursing and Allied Health.  CTE is identified in Section 66010.4 of Title 5 of the CA Education Code as one of the community college’s primary missions.  The CTE Unit in the EWD Division is responsible for federal Carl D. Perkins IV funding.  The federal legislation clearly defines how the funds are to be allocated and establishes required goals, objectives, and activities.  One of the activities funded through Perkins IV Title II – B Leadership funds is the Regional Consortia.  (See Attachment A:  Regional Consortia History). 
The Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWDP) is funded by the CA legislature and is referenced in Section 66010.4 of Title 5 of the Education Code to “advance California’s economic growth and global competitiveness through education, training, and services that contribute to continuous workforce improvement.”  The EWDP has an Advisory Committee comprised of stakeholders who provide broad oversight for the program.  Funding for EWDP is released through a Request for Application (RFA) process that identifies the goals, objectives and required activities.  (See Attachment B:  Economic & Workforce Development Program History).
Opportunities to Leverage Assets

From the practitioner perspective, the solid foundation of good practice that currently exists within both the CTE and EWD programs can be improved through a focus on the following areas:

1. The current infrastructure is not designed to address regional needs, despite the recognized shift to regional economies throughout the state.  Improved alignment of CTE and EWD goals, objectives and resources will create the structure necessary to deliver programs and services in a flexible, responsive, regional manner and will address current service gaps:
1. Support from business/industry and stakeholder partners is often sought separately by each program, causing duplication and confusion.
2. EWD Initiatives, Perkins-funded projects, and SB70 Collaboratives frequently serve only their “host” college as opposed to serving a regional function.
3. CTE programs/funding and EWD Initiatives can become misaligned with CA workforce and economic development needs as the economy and workforce shifts.
4. Colleges, EWD and the Chancellor’s Office often compete with each other for federal, state, and local funds in a non-strategic manner. Coordination/collaboration will create better responses to workforce needs.
5. Some regions suffer with a lack of clear coordination with Workforce Investment Board’s and would benefit from a regional strategy.

2. Improved collaboration/coordination between the workforce and economic development programs of the community colleges will enhance effectiveness.

1. Clarify the mission of workforce and economic development at both the state and local level.
2. Align and coordinate funding priorities and reporting requirements to leverage outcomes.
3. Provide improved access to and utilization of system resources including data, services, and staff.
4. Ensure that the activities of the EWD Initiatives are aligned with local CTE programs and services, creating greater return-on-investment and greater impact on regional economic development.

Proposal: A regional infrastructure to respond regionally to workforce and economic development needs through alignment of current resources will more efficiently deliver workforce and economic development programs and services at the regional scale, contributing to the economic growth of California.

Who must it serve?

1. Clients/Customers: Community Colleges, Students (includes emerging, incumbent, dislocated workers), Workforce Investment Boards, Business and Industry (served by credit, non-credit, not-for-credit, and contract education training products) within a regional structure

2. Partners/Stakeholders: Community Colleges, Business and Industry, K-12 Education/ROP, Adult Education, 4-year Postsecondary Education, Economic Development Agencies, Venture Capital Investment, Workforce Development Agencies, Non-Profits, Foundations, Proprietary Providers, Workforce Investment Boards /One-Stop Career Centers, Chancellor’s Office

What must a regional model provide or facilitate?

• A regional infrastructure that increases the capacity of community colleges in each region to partner with each other and other workforce & economic development stakeholders to effectively meet regional workforce needs
• Support for flexible, on-going regional industry sector-based collaboration that provides efficient response to emerging workforce needs; may include curriculum development, consultation with industry and district/college leadership and resource distribution
• Accurate and timely regional data, research, and environmental scanning used to develop strategic regional workforce development decisions
• A clearinghouse for grants that reconciles different sources of funding, fosters collaboration over competition, and leverages economies of scale to maximize/optimize resources and efficiencies
• Support for regional grant applications
• Evaluation/benchmarking of programs across colleges; creating “communities of practice” to support program improvement efforts
• A convening and communication infrastructure and services that support timely and strategic responses to regional workforce needs and initiatives; including program approvals and review of existing programs.  Provides contact for, and referral to, the community colleges in the region, including the possibility of a single point of contact with the goal of improving the interface with regional partners, including Local Workforce Investment Boards on sector-based strategy approaches
• A resource repository that increases access to/consistency of existing curriculum, training materials, research, etc.
• Professional development in support of emerging sectors, workforce partnerships, and improved teaching & learning, among others.
• Regional marketing, public relations and advocacy for workforce and economic development
• Formal linkages to the other regions, the Chancellor’s Office and state-level workforce and economic development organizations

Who benefits?
Colleges

• Program development is strategic and cost-effective
• Facilitated development of conjoint and regional programming that addresses programs too big or too small for one college
• Quicker response time to business and industry
• Access to high quality labor market data and analysis for specific sectors and geography
• Access to model curriculum and training materials
• Increased accountability for programming
• Access to industry partners at a regional level
• Increased opportunity to share effective practice
• Targeted allocation of resources that avoids duplication and increases both equity and accountability

Business and Industry

• Cost-effective, just-in-time training and programming
• Opportunity to participate in “marketplaces” where there is streamlined access to the resources of all regional colleges
• Coordinated advisory functions, leveraged knowledge and forecasting, facilitated partnerships

Stakeholders

• Shared effective practice (e.g. Workforce Investment Boards, Tech Prep, SB 70-Community Collaboratives)
• Improved leveraging and effective use of public resources
• Opportunity to create regional partnerships and leverage funding opportunities
• Engage foundations at a regional level

       
What needs to happen?

Allow two years for each region to develop a customized regional model

Year One – Planning
Funding will be used to support planning that includes an assessment of regional capacities and needs, the establishment of strategic partnerships, and the development of the regional collaborative infrastructure that best fits that region, while addressing the required components outlined above. The region must develop meaningful performance indicators that are subject to independent evaluation and inform continuous improvement strategies. Planning will include regular meetings between and among the regions and the Chancellor’s Office to refine the models.

Year Two – Pilot
Funding will support the continued development and revisions to the model/s and to develop guidelines that:

• Define the relationships between and among the participating colleges and the regional organization
• Provide for a governance structure that is accountable to both the  Chancellor’s Office and regional colleges
• Ensure an effective communication strategy that links the regions and the Chancellor’s Office

What resources are required?
Year One - An augmentation to regional funding that supports the costs of planning and laying the foundation of the regional model

Year Two - The colleges of each region will collectively respond to an RFA that requires the region to demonstrate that their model addresses the components listed above with the understanding that both the responses and required infrastructure may vary in scope and size from region to region

Funding Strategies:

• Fund with existing state and federal funding streams.
• Formally link each region to state-level economic and workforce development entities and organizations.
• Explore opportunities to leverage state and federal funds with local funding sources. 

 

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