Prepare an
Educated Workforce
Champion: Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce/UNITE-LA
Create a Business-Friendly Environment
Enhance our Quality of Life
Implement Smart Land Use
Build 21st Century Infrastructure
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Prepare an Educated Workforce
Los Angeles County is home to numerous highly-educated workers, and businesses in the area benefit from an industrious, talented and diverse workforce. To stay competitive in the global economy, Los Angeles County will need to maintain and expand its educated workforce and entrepreneurial class. Higher education provided by Caltech, UCLA and USC, numerous California State University campuses, private universities and colleges, and community colleges is superb, but there is still substantial room for improvement in K-12 education where student performance and dropout rates are both major areas of concern. The Educated Workforce component aims to improve educational outcomes, align education and training programs with business needs, and ensure that all potential workers are prepared to participate in the dynamic L.A. County economy.
1. Ensure successful education outcomes at every level, i.e., all students should, at a minimum, achieve grade-level proficiency and graduate.
Make schools better by tracking, assessing and reporting student performance outcomes; increasing the number of charter schools and small schools/learning communities in schools; increasing the use of technology at all levels; increasing arts, language, STEM education and preparation for employment opportunities in key industries; improving teacher quality and accountability through enhanced training, recruitment and incentives; implementing multiple pathway approaches which prepare students from diverse backgrounds for college, careers and entrepreneurship; and creating and strengthening linkages among K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.
Connect schools and communities by linking local community organizations, non-profits, businesses and corporate leaders with schools through formal partnerships, and implementing family education programs and after-school programs.
Increase student access and engagement by teaching and motivating parents to be meaningfully engaged in their children’s educational success; educating parents and students on career opportunities and readiness requirements; and increasing access to scholarships, loans and grants for education.
2. Ensure that businesses have enough workers with the right skill sets to meet their needs.
Conduct and publish research on workforce shortages, skill gaps and required proficiencies; and evaluate existing education, training and placement programs for continuous improvement.
Fund workforce intermediaries to bring together stakeholders in targeted industry sectors to address existing and projected future workforce gaps by facilitating more opportunities for public-private collaboration between individual businesses, community colleges and universities, and promoting industry-driven curricula and technical education based on employer-recognized certification
Integrate workforce training activities and higher education (from entry to college/university-based to enhanced professional education) to create seamless career pathways leading to high-value jobs in target industries (e.g., aerospace engineers).
Expand customized, sector-based programs to train larger numbers of people and market them better to job seekers.
Retain and attract highly-skilled workers and develop the next generation of managerial talent.
Co-locate public services such as WorkSource/OneSource centers on college campuses.
3. Prepare job seekers and incumbent workers to enter sectors with high-value
jobs – as measured by wages, benefits and additional income attracted into
the County – and built-in career ladders.
Create programs that expand the workforce by reconnecting high school dropouts to educational and training opportunities.
Develop, expand and upgrade the skills of the existing workforce.
Begin career awareness programs in middle school. Offer student internships, job shadowing, apprenticeships, concurrent enrollment programs, soft skills training, improved career counseling, youth employment and more parent education on careers to provide students with career awareness and work experience.