Northern California Career Pathways Alliance Preparing students for College, Career & Life Engaging Workforce Development Board Partners to Expand Employer Engagement

WHo is NCCPA? We are an ALLIANCE of SIX counties Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma We include the County Offices of Education Community Colleges Workforce Investment Boards 22 High Schools 165 business and community partners Northern California Career Pathways Alliance

Regional Structure & model Workforce Investment Boards as partners on Governance Team Leadership within each county Business & Education Liaisons Regional & Local Industry Roundtables Coordinated industry outreach – one point of contact Sonoma County Structure & History Northern California Career Pathways Alliance

Sonoma County Education & Workforce Development Member of the WIB for the past 10 Years Developed Work Ready Certification Chaired Youth Council Engaged many Community & Industry Partners to develop Cradle-to- Career Framework Developed Summer WBL program for all youth with special support for WIA Youth Developing Youth Committee under WIOA County Board of Supervisors – Economic Development Plan Focused on Workforce Development strategies and Career Pathways Innovation Action Council Next Economy Continue a strong partnership to leverage funding and partnerships

Collaboration Workforce Investment Boards County Offices of Education A true partnership between industry, education, and community stakeholders within the county is critical in developing a work plan designed to address industry engagement, programs of study, and transition to post-secondary completion. Workforce Investment Boards County Offices of Education Junior Colleges Local/Regional Industries Community Based Partners Parents Northern California Career Pathways Alliance

Successes Engaged employers by promoting the effectiveness and relevance of training and education Student Projects at Roundtable Parent Involvement Meaningful Presentations to Industry Northern California Career Pathways Alliance

THINGS LEARNED… Ongoing Lessons Outliers in Industry Edu-speak vs Industry Acronyms Outliers in Industry Other Stakeholders than the largest employers Sensitive to business time / need Northern California Career Pathways Alliance

CONTACTS Angela Higdon, Work-Based Learning Coordinator Northern CA Career Pathways Alliance ahigdon@solanocoe.net (707) 399-4888 or (707) 333-3341 Stephen Jackson, Director of CTE Sonoma County Office of Education sjackson@scoe.org Nancy Keene Sonoma County Job Link/Workforce Investment Board nkeene@schsd.org Northern California Career Pathways Alliance