The California Community Colleges are front and center in answering the state’s need for a trained workforce.
The 2016-17 budget provided $200 million in ongoing funding to the California Community Colleges (CCC) Chancellor’s Office to create a new career technical education (CTE) program. In 2017-18, the state folded in a former CTE initiative, increasing funding to the Strong Workforce program to $248 million. These investments were actively promoted and endorsed by the California Economic Summit.
For Sheneui Weber, vice chancellor of workforce and economic development for the Colleges, the emphasis is that this significant investment is effectively used.
“We are proud of the investments that are being made in the community colleges that is strengthening workforce preparation in California,” said Weber. “As we move forward, it is critical that we increase the number of work-based learning opportunities for students, such as paid internships and apprenticeships, that gives students real-world experience and a pathway to securing a good paying career.”
At the recent California Economic Summit in Fresno, Vice Chancellor Weber spoke about the importance of the colleges being able to effectively response to the workforce needs and “to really make sure what we’re doing right now is providing the impact for the investments that have been made.”
The Colleges are also working with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to look at the investments that the state is making into the different economic development organizations to make sure the colleges play a role in helping both the businesses and students that are impacted.
