This report discusses the disturbing shortage of nurses and growing impact on this shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, California's nursing workforce currently does not reflect the state's diversity. Although Latinx residents account for 39% of the state's population, just 10% of California's Registered Nurses are Latinx. While…

The Framework is designed to support workforce boards in building regional data capacity to identify, coordinate, and track the impact of regional activities. In addition, the Framework outlines how workforce boards can strategically align to statewide goals focused on increasing equitable upward mobility. Demonstrating equitable economic growth…

From February to April, New America conducted over 30 interviews with experts, care providers, and union representatives, focusing on three states. This report outlines key considerations for improving care worker job quality through organizing. We also include case studies on care worker organizing in California, Illinois, Washington, and the…

Objective: Community college baccalaureate (CCB) programs are expanding across the nation, particularly in California--home of the largest and most ethnically/racially diverse community college system in the nation. CCB programs provide many benefits, two of which include providing an accessible and affordable pathway towards baccalaureate…

In the last two years, the nation's workforce development boards have focused on job training and placement in the face of many challenges related to the changing labor market, a global pandemic, and an economic shutdown. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) spoke with five workforce development board directors from across the…

Parts of California, and the nation, are in the midst of a teacher shortage that adversely affects communities, schools, families, and students, and especially Students and Families of Color (California Department of Education [CDE], 2022b; Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017a, 2017b; Carver-Thomas et al., 2021; Commission on Teacher…

This paper presents a rationale for using professional and continuing education (PaCE) units at post-secondary institutions throughout California to design and implement talent-pipelines, research and development collaborations, and other knowledge ecosystems where emerging and returning professionals can acquire the knowledge, skills, and…

In 2021, California made major new investments to advance its commitment to early childhood education through universal preschool. One important investment was extending state funding for transitional kindergarten (TK), previously just for older 4-year-olds, to all 4-year-olds by 2025-26. To ensure the quality of new preschool investments,…

Workforce development in the K-12 educational setting, including the preparation of new teachers, faces multiple challenges today. These challenges include an ongoing teacher shortage and the lack of a coordinated educational preparation pipeline. Also problematic are the numerous obstacles on the path to teacher credentialing in states like…

In 2024, WestEd partnered with Sobrato Philanthropies to conduct a strategic and economic analysis of English Learner programs in the state of California. The study sought to define the scale of economic challenges and explore underlying conditions impacting the costs of implementing English Learner programs in California in alignment with best…

In 2021, California committed to making transitional kindergarten (TK)--a school-based preschool program initially designed for older 4-year-olds--available for all 4-year-olds by 2025-26. As TK becomes universal, California will need to greatly expand the early learning workforce. This brief provides estimates of how many TK teachers California…

This study responds to a national conversation about the role that Career Technical Education (CTE) might play in meeting workforce demand for soft skills. It is challenging for CTE programs to offer soft skills for several reasons. Both educators and employers tend to associate CTE with hard skills, or technical skills and therefore the programs…

Digital technologies are an integral facet of human existence, changing how humans find information, the way humans communicate and even human behavior. This transition applies to education as well, with the continued growth of artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping the higher education landscape at two- and four-year institutions alike. AI is…

This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

The California Community Colleges, through the Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWD), is an incubator of educational and workforce development that collaborates with industry to develop and deliver cutting-edge career and technical education (CTE) skills training. Guiding the work taking place at the regional and state levels is the…