Transforming Systems to Achieve Better Careers for Californians: Balanced Stakeholder Relationships Lead to Innovative Workforce Development Strategies

Millions of working Californians are unable to fulfill their families’ basic needs. Higher-paying jobs that require specialized skills are beyond their reach, and many entry-level jobs are likely to be automated by 2022, so there’s an urgent need to redesign the state’s education and training systems to help people get the skills they need to secure family-supporting jobs. This brief—the first in a series—describes the challenges facing people in low-wage jobs and examines the shifts in relationships between employers, education and training providers, community agencies, and workers that will be required to keep up with the rapid pace of economic change and technological innovation.

Millions of working Californians are unable to fulfill their families’ basic needs. Automation is likely to eliminate many of their jobs by 2022, and higher-paying jobs that require specialized skills, while plentiful, are beyond their reach. Therefore, there’s an urgent need to redesign the state’s education and training systems to help people get the skills they need to secure family-supporting jobs. This brief—the second in a series—describes innovations advanced by organizations participating in the James Irvine Foundation’s Better Careers initiative. Developments that help connect California workers to good jobs and advancement opportunities include substantive investments by employers, the emergence of new avenues for entering and connecting with growing industries, and intermediaries’ efforts to scale innovative approaches.