California’s EDGE Keeping California Competitive

California is at a crossroads

The Challenges US no longer has the best-educated workforce Over the last 30 years, many countries have surpassed our percentage of entering workers with H.S. diplomas 30 years ago, US had 30% of all world-wide college students; today, only 14% US students perform at the middle to bottom of comparative studies in mathematics, science and general literacy in advanced industrial nations

Global Influences Digitized formats – no longer must people be co-located to participate in work teams US workers in direct competition with global workers at lower costs who may have better skills Change in US leadership from vertical integration to deconstruction Result = outsourcing

Impact of Automation Progressively less expensive to automate functions As labor costs rise and the cost of automation falls, firms increasingly reduce or eliminate human jobs Low-skill automation is giving way to higher-skill automation

Leadership in the Global Economy Requires a technological lead, year in and year out Depends upon creativity, leading to constant innovation High level of preparation in reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, science, history, and the arts A base to imagine how to use things never before available Analysis + synthesis; the ability to learn

California’s Competitive Advantage Home to many of the US fastest growing & profitable companies Per capita family incomes above those of the nation as a whole A skilled workforce, modern infrastructure, mix of people & cultures, effective collaboration of labor, business, government and community

Clouds on the Horizon Over the next 2 decades, demographic shifts will change California’s population – primarily its working population 4 million highly skilled baby boomers will retire by survey of California Manufacturing and Technology Association reports #1 challenge as “sustaining and/or acquiring a skilled workforce” Growth in California’s workforce will primarily be from immigrants

Growth in California’s Workforce In the Next 25 Years

Employers Require Greater Education

Is Our Education System Prepared? Campaign for College Opportunity estimates 1.8 million students will be turned away from California’s public colleges between 2004 – 2013 due to lack of space An unacceptable number of students graduate from California H.S. – In 2000, only 70% of 9 th graders graduated in 4 years; 29% of California 18 – 24 year- olds lacked a H.S. degree Over half of all incoming community college students need basic skills math and English programs Incumbent workers must continually upgrade their skills for job retention and advancement

California’s 21 st Century EDGE Campaign is a non-partisan coalition of groups who believes that: California’s future economic growth rests on the skill level of its workers A strategic effort is required to develop an integrated system of talent development Both employers and workers face economic decline without this effort California cannot address its workforce challenges in piecemeal fashion

A Policy Agenda Invest in Regional Workforce & Economic Development Strategies Provide All Californians Access to Education and Skills Training Provide Working Adults Opportunities to Move Up a Skill Ladder Link Workforce Programs & Institutions to Crete Pathways to High Wage Jobs Align Program Goals & Measures to Achieve a Shared Vision

Invest Expand funding & incentives for regional workforce planning and partnerships Invest in regional capacity to connect employers & education institutions Link workforce & economic development initiatives

Education & Skills Training Maintain broad access to 2 and 4 year colleges Recognize & fund the multiple roles community colleges play in workforce education Invest in career/tech. in H.S. & college Expand access to apprenticeships Expand career counseling at all levels Develop targeted programs for at risk students

Skill Ladders for Working Adults Support programming for working adults [accelerated, off-hours, on-site] Improve access to financial aid Expand targeted support services [child care, counseling] Expand non-traditional training options Maximize flexibility in uses of federal and state funding

Pathways to High Wage Jobs Provide clear pathways that allow progression over time to higher levels of skill = career with a future Link basic skills and career prep programs [VESL] Align H.S. career/tech education with postsecondary levels

Shared Vision Develop regional and state goals and a tracking system to measure results Establish appropriate performance targets Provide public reports on progress

Community Colleges Stand at the Center of Change

Further Reading [California’s EDGE Campaign] [enGauge 21st Century Skills] [Career Pathways: Aligning Public Resources to Support Individual & Regional Economic Advancement in the Knowledge Economy] [Tough Choices or touch Times]