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The new EWD Website is designed to help you learn and take advantage of our Industry Programs & Services.
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 Our Mission
We invest in California's economic growth and global competitiveness through industry-specific education, training and services that contribute to a highly skilled and productive workforce. |
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Dean's Corner
The Power of Partnerships
Welcome to the first edition of Grow California, California Community Colleges, Economic and Workforce Development eNewsletter for California business and industry. Our mission is very simple - - as an integral part of the California Community Colleges, we invest funding and resources in key industry sectors to help California businesses grow and compete. While the mission is simple, the reality is that businesses all across California are still crawling out of a downturned economy. With increasingly limited resources, and increased demand for training and education services, the challenges are significant for employers, educators and workers. In its first quarterly report of 2010, the UCLA Anderson Forecast renders a "bipolar" diagnosis for the national economy, referencing the dual conditions of slow-but-sure growth in the national gross domestic product, coupled with an unemployment rate predicted to remain in double digits until 2012. The California economy remains focused on job creation, but businesses have had no choice but to continue to wait for a better growth climate to appear. We see firsthand how our EWD business customers face tough decisions everyday around layoffs, downsizing, closures and workforce skill shortages. Through our network of business and industry programs, our job is to partner with businesses and other stakeholders to leverage funding and resources that can help alleviate these challenges. Effective partnerships always yield innovative opportunities for private and public sector entities to become more successful in how they serve their customers. In this edition, we explore how EWD's programs have used the power of partnerships to impact the bottom-line of businesses all across California in a variety of industries. If you haven't considered a partnership with EWD, now's the time. Our new Website is dedicated to helping you partner with us to find highly specialized industry training, technical consulting and business development services. The end result is the ability to better understand industry-specific labor market trends, and make informed decisions about how to grow and compete. Subscribe to our blog and eblast industry updates to stay in touch with the latest news, events and funding opportunities in your region.
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EWD Industry Report
Health Information Management:
Upward Trends in LA & Orange Counties
EWD's Centers of Excellence (COE) partner with business and industry to deliver regional workforce research to guide curriculum development at California community colleges and meet the needs of California's businesses for a skilled workforce.
The COE's latest report shows a high demand for health information management (HIM) and health information technology (health IT) workers. The COE has recommended that new programs for HIM be established in the Los Angeles/Orange County area to address the rising trend. These areas focus on acquiring, storing, retrieving and using health information in medical settings. The adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) is the biggest change in health information today.
In Los Angeles and Orange Counties, 715 new jobs are projected, representing a 12% growth in employment for Medical Records and Health Information Technicians (HIT) between 2009 and 2014. When retirements and resignations are factored in, a total of 1,511 job openings will occur over the five-year period, which represents 26% of all of the jobs in this occupation.
Currently in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, there are two programs for HITs located at East Los Angeles College and Cypress College; two private schools also have accredited programs. In 2008, 42 students graduated from local accredited AA/AS-degree programs for HITs and another 87 students completed shorter-term certificate programs.
At this rate, there will be 645 program graduates and completers from 2009-2014, but during this same time period there are expected to be 1,511 vacant positions. The data does not indicate how many of the positions in this category are for RHITs and how many are for medical records personnel, but it is clear that demand will be greater than the supply with 866 openings potentially going unfilled.
To download the full report, or to view other industry reports and scans, go to www.coeccc.net.
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EWD News
Sacramento Trade Development Center Wins Presidential "E" Award
Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce presents the Presidential "E" Award and "E" Star Award for outstanding contributions to growing U.S. exports, strengthening the economy and creating American jobs; the awards are the highest U.S. government honor for superior performance in increasing or promoting exports. This year, EWD's Sacramento Regional Center for International Trade Development (CITD) was a recipient of the President's "E" Award; Director Brooks Ohlson accepted the award for the organization in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. "We are helping our region reach overseas markets through training, finding solutions to complex export problems, providing marketing consultation and working with a large network of educational and government entities," Ohlson said. The CITD, which operates within the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, serves 11 counties in northern California. The award letter highlighted CITD's impressive trade education and promotion programs that are conducted with its partners to help businesses grow in northern California. These are the first "E" and "E" Star Awards given out since President Obama announced the National Export Initiative, which aims to double American exports and support 2 million U.S. jobs by 2015. For more information about the Centers for International Trade, go to www.citd.org.
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Click on the links below to learn more about how we are building effective partnerships with business and industry through our innovative programs.
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Industry Training Partnerships: Utility-Scale Solar Energy
In a time when downsizing, layoffs and closures have become the norm, an emerging industry in Southern California is expected to create thousands of new jobs. While the utility-scale solar power generation is an industry with proven technologies in the U.S. and Europe, the level of development in this region is unprecedented; over 311,900 acres were set-aside for "fast-track" solar energy development. A grant received through the Clean Energy Workforce Training Program (funded by the California Energy Commission and Employment Development Department) will support the ATTE Center at the College of the Desert to address the regional workforce development training needs to meet this high demand. The ATTE Center is preparing workers who are unemployed or underemployed, as well as new workforce entrants for the jobs to be created by the utility-scale solar industry. It is providing training in solar energy theory, utility-scale applications of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal (CST) technologies, and project-specific field construction of PV and CST systems. "Having the involvement of industry partners is not only critical to ensuring that training is responsive to industry needs, it is also critical for linking trainees to future employment opportunities," said Director, ATTE Center, College of the Desert, Larry McLaughlin. The ATTE Center has engaged prominent firms in the program including First Solar, Solar Millennium, DEO Enterprises, and Gossamer Space Frames who have contributed input into curriculum development, as well as equipment to support the hands-on training components of the program. If your utility-scale solar industry business is interested in more information on this program, contact Larry McLaughlin at (760) 773-2595) or lmclaughlin@collegeofthedesert.edu, or Statewide ATTE Director Peter Davis at pdavis@cccewd.net. Learn more about ATTE initiatives, or join our 4Energy online forum at www.attecolleges.org.
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Partnerships in Biotech Start-ups: Supporting Growth & Workforce Development
The EWD LA/Orange County Applied Biotechnology Center is hosted through a partnership with the Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative (PBC), a non-profit organization created to support the growing biotechnology industry in the San Gabriel Valley. The partnership promotes and supports new company formation by providing low-cost, high quality WetLab space and access to used equipment for early start-ups. The PBC also provides specialized education and training for the biotech workforce, as well as access to experts in business fields such as intellectual property, law and financial planning.
The PBC's recent open house celebrated their expansion and showcased their 11 tenant companies, five of whom have been successful graduates. The companies operate in biotechnology, nanotechnology, engineering and material science.
Statewide EWD Applied Biotech Director Jeffrey O'Neal said, "PBC operates approximately 10,000 square feet of WetLab incubation space which allows entrepreneurs to develop proof-of-principle for their particular applications; any intellectual property developed is solely owned by the companies themselves."
Trained interns are available from the Biological Technology Program at Pasadena City College, as well as from California State University, Los Angeles and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Proximity to the Oak Crest Institute of Science allows collaboration with scientists and research projects in environmental sciences.
The PBC is the result of collaboration by individuals from many different sectors - government, education, non-profits and private industry. For more information, contact Dr. Wendie Johnston, Director - EWD LA/Orange County Applied Biotechnology Center at (626) 644-1412 or
wajohnston@pasadena.edu. Learn more about EWD's Applied Biotechnology program at www.cccbiotech.org.
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Partnerships in Green Career Pathways: Building Skill Sets that Support Business & Industry
California's environmental, health, safety, and homeland security initiatives all benefit from the workforce training provided by EWD's Environmental Training Centers (ETC). Its Bay Area Environmental Training Center (BAETC) has been focused on inspiring students to plan for green careers by building skill sets for these emerging jobs.
The BAETC's Renewable Energy portable solar unit serves as a model to instruct students about the science of electricity while emphasizing the ecological consequences of conventional energy production and consumption.
"Through hands-on design lab experiences, the unit will help students integrate and articulate solar energy," said BAETC Director Michael Hall. "For example, they get to see first-hand how solar energy powers home systems that are tied to the grid and are designed to feed power back to the utility system when they generate more power than can be used."
The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office reports that each year fewer students attain the requisite skills in math and science to succeed in today's workforce. The hands-on lab experiences will encourage students to formulate an appreciation of science and engineering and explore these disciplines with respect to environmental issues.
For more information about ETC's training programs, or if you need assistance with California state compliance issues related to environment, health, safety and homeland security, contact www.envtraining.org for low-cost or free technical assistance.
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Partnerships in Health Information Technology: Multi-State Training Grant to Benefit California Health Care Providers
Health care continues to be one of the fastest growing industries in California and faces unprecedented challenges to its delivery systems. EWD's Regional Health Occupations Resource Centers (RHORC) identify the workforce needs of California's health care delivery systems and develop solutions through a comprehensive problem-solving process that includes assessment and analysis, planning and development, and implementation and evaluation.
The RHORC will contribute to the coordination of a $5.4 million multi-state training grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) involving a consortium of 14 community colleges in California, Hawaii, Arizona and Nevada to address implementation of electronic health records (EHRs). The Los Rios Community College District will take the lead on the grant, and if extended into a second year, would provide an additional $5.35 million to the project.
The network of 14 colleges will 1) implement newly established national curriculum in health informatics; 2) recruit and enroll 2,100 students per year in the new curriculum; 3) schedule each program of study to be completed in six months or less; 4) design flexible programs of study that allow each student to enroll in just those courses he or she needs; 5) begin training by September 30, 2010; and 6) link program completers to job opportunities.
Statewide RHORC Director Linda Zorn said, "This is an outstanding opportunity to build on the partnerships with our business community and train workers in the high demand field of Health Information Technology. We've established great relationships with Kaiser Permanente and expect other health care providers will want to partner with us to benefit from this opportunity as we move forward."
For more information on the RHORC contact Linda Zorn (530)879-9069 or zornli@butte.edu or go to www.healthoccupations.org. |
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Partnerships with CITD: Expansion Strategies in New Markets
The EWD's Centers of International Trade Development (CITD) assist thousands of companies annually in conducting international business through free or low-cost programs and services that include one-on-one technical assistance and consulting, market research, training and educational programs, trade leads and special events. The CITD's technical assistance supports great ideas that need clear direction and a solid business plan to come to fruition. A case in point is LJK Holdings, a business that imports PET plastic rolls (environmentally friendly plastic) from the Middle East to Savannah, Georgia; from this point, the product is transported to a warehouse in Kentucky and then shipped to California via truck. LJK Holdings President Don Krushke contacted the CITD frustrated over the high freight costs that were inhibiting his expansion to the West Coast market. The CITD at Long Beach developed a micro-bridge strategy that incorporated shipping directly to the Port of Long Beach from the Middle East. The strategy resulted in reduced shipping time and costs, by eliminating the price of the two preliminary containers by $.07/pound. As a result, Mr. Krushke has currently imported $250,000 of PET plastic rolls though the Port of Long Beach and is in negotiations with new customers in the greater Southern California area. It's partnerships like this that won the CITD the Presidential "E" Award, the highest U.S. government honor for superior performance in increasing or promoting exports. For more information about the CITD, contact Statewide CITD Director Jeffrey Williamson at (951) 571-6458 or jwilliamson@cccewd.net, or go to www.citd.org.
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Partnerships in Aerospace: CACT Received $1 Million in Donated Training Equipment
EWD's Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) are dedicated to serving California's advanced technology companies through technology education, manufacturing training, and consulting services.
The CACTs @ El Camino College, Cerritos College, North Orange Community College District, and Los Angeles Community College District have developed a unique training program to assist California-based aerospace fastener manufacturers in finding solutions to the skilled worker shortage. Located at the El Camino College Compton Educational Center in Compton, it is the only program of its kind in the Western United States, as it exposes workers to the unique conditions of the aerospace fastener industry, one that generates $6.5 billion in global sales.
Southern California is home to dozens of manufacturers, including three of the world's largest. In fact, over $4.5 billion in global sales are generated from Southern California-based manufacturers and distributors. More than half of these manufacturers are located within a 20-mile radius around Compton Educational Center.
And, these manufacturers see the high value of this program, as many companies have donated nearly $1 million in industry equipment that will be used to train students. Donors to date include P.B. Fasteners, Turncorp Inc., Shafer Machinery, Bristol Industries, Alcoa Fastening Systems, Johnson Gage Company, and The Phillips Screw Company.
David Gonzales, director of the CACT @ at El Camino College, said, "Our Alliance industry partners continue to support the program because the curriculum development process is so valuable to their operations. It prequalifies people who have an interest in the industry, and provides pre-testing for basic skills before moving into the technical training."
For information about the CACTs or the Aerospace Fastener Training Program, contact David Gonzales, CACT Director @ El Camino College at (310) 973-3170, or dgonzales@elcamino.edu, or go to www.MakingItInCalifornia.com.
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Partnerships in New Media & Entertainment: Getting in the Social Media Game
EWD's New Media & Entertainment Initiative (NMEI) is a statewide network of Community College educators working in strategic partnerships with businesses, industry and community organizations to identify and meet California's workforce and economic development needs in the areas of digital arts and new media applications.
At a time when economic and workforce development is needed to rebuild the California economy, companies of all sizes and industry types are looking to utilize new media and Internet-based technologies to grow. But, social media can be completely overwhelming for businesses. Where do you start? What tool do you need to grow your business? How do you begin? Will it work for your type of business?
Metzer Farms, a Salinas Valley company that has been producing and breeding ducklings and goslings since 1978, wanted to get in the social media game and make their series of blogs come to life. The hatchery covers every aspect of the business from breeding to shipping the highest quality birds. They attempt to be innovative in their production methods and customer-oriented in their marketing. The NMEI at Hartnell College connected Eric Brown, a video production student, with Metzer to create a series of YouTube videos that showcased an educational topic for this particular market - sexing baby ducks. YouTube was selected because of its high growth rate of users (over 400M per month) and the ability to distribute the video in a cost-effective manner.
Social media can support the growth of just about any business, and it's not just for youth. Forrester reports that a third of adults post at least once a week to social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and a quarter of adults publish a blog and upload video/audio they created. Approximately 70% read blogs, tweets and watch UGC video. Online video viewing increased 35% year over year; that's 15 hours uploaded every minute!
The NMEI supports the growing needs of small to medium sized businesses to adopt new media applications that enable better marketing, customer service, productivity and collaboration. The curriculum and contract learning products cover the application of digital arts to new media, multimedia and entertainment. They span topics from hands-on classroom software training to community outreach and on-line seminars covering the business adoption, management and legal concerns of new media applications. For more information, contact NMEI Statewide Director, Steve Wright at 805 496 8583 or swright@cccewd.net.
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Partnership Opportunities for Businesses: New Business & Entrepreneurship Centers
California entrepreneurship is alive and well. In the worst economic downturn since World War II, statistics from the Secretary of State show that 93,519 businesses incorporated in California in 2009. Against all odds, 93,519 California entrepreneurs committed time and money to building new businesses in our state.
To raise the performance level of small businesses across California, EWD is launching a new Small Business Programs Initiative with a strong focus on entrepreneurship. The newly created Business and Entrepreneurship Centers (BEC) will facilitate the success of business and entrepreneurship through partnerships and collaborations with business, industry, education and government.
The BECs will leverage and utilize the resources of other business-related organizations in their region to broaden the overall services available to BEC clients. The BEC's will integrate their services into the region's network of principal economic development organizations, financial institutions, community colleges, and regional business and industry associations.
Statewide efforts of the BECs include 1) training in topics relevant to small businesses; 2) conducting research to identity solutions to economic issues and/or business opportunities; and 3) leveraging community college and other training resources.
For more information about the BECs, contact BEC Statewide Director Michael Roessler at (916) 361-2964 or mroessler@cccewd.net.
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Partnerships in Communication Training: English for Medical Professionals
EWD's Workplace Learning Resource Centers (WpLRC) specialize in cost-effective and targeted basic skills training and education to ensure California's workforce has the skills necessary to be productive in the workplace. One of these core workforce skills is good communication. This skill set is especially critical in the medical field; poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, delays in care, and in the worst case, serious illness or even death. To address this critical need, the Silicon Valley WpLRC, the South Bay Regional Health Occupations Resource Center (RHORC), and AmEnglish have joined together to create a free online pronunciation course and tutorial for medical professionals. The course includes four modules and is designed to teach non-native English speakers the skills to help them hear, practice and then use the correct rhythm, stress and intonation in their spoken English. Pronunciation in English for Medical Professionals focuses on key terms and topics commonly used in health care and provides a wide range of interactive activities. It gives the learners the opportunity to record themselves and compare their pronunciation with that of a native speaker. "The course addresses a need expressed by the health care industry and demonstrates the benefits of collaboration with business and industry and our other EWD partners," said Bruce Whistler, WpLRC Statewide Director. This course is available to business, faculty and students free of charge with access at the WpLRC Website. In addition, AmEnglish recently offered a free three-month trial version of their six-module version valued at over $50 per person. To learn more about this course or to register visit www.wplrc.org or contact Statewide WpLRC Director Bruce Whistler at Bwhistler@cccewd.net or (650) 641-0161.
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