Southwest Bay Area SB 1070 CTE Pathways Consortiumand successful transition of CTE students from...

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Southwest Bay Area SB 1070 CTE

Pathways Consortium

Industry Partnerships Research Project Final Report

October 31, 2015

SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium

Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report

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Executive Summary

Background

California’s Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) prioritizes the provision of career technical education (CTE) at the

secondary and post-secondary level as a key workforce and economic development strategy. The primary

objective of SB 1070 is for consortia of education and workforce partners within geographic regions across

the state to develop and implement sustainable policies and infrastructure that result in the measurable

and successful transition of CTE students from high schools to post-secondary education and careers. SB

1070 aims to increase student success in post-secondary education and training in careers of high need,

high growth, or emerging regional sectors through collaboration and articulation between middle and

high schools, postsecondary education, and regional business and labor organizations. SB 1070 provides

the coordinating infrastructure to ensure that CTE education provides solutions to workforce needs, offers

essential opportunities for students, and increases the economic mobility of the regional workforce.

The SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium is the local regional organizing body for implementation of

the legislation in the Southwest Bay Area, a diverse region encompassing the counties of Monterey, San

Francisco, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. The Consortium, a partnership effort

between fourteen community colleges and over thirty K-12 school districts, aims to align regional CTE

programming with workforce demand. The Consortium consists of five targeted workgroups, each

working toward identifying and implementing strategies to achieve the legislation’s objectives.

Consortium workgroups include: 1) Systems Alignment; 2) Professional Development/Best Practices; 3)

Intersegmental Industry Engagement; 4) Data Systems Strategy; and 5) Communications, Marketing, and

Dissemination.

Recognizing that industry engagement is essential to the creation, implementation, and success of

regional CTE strategies, the Consortium’s Intersegmental Industry Engagement workgroup endeavors to

develop and implement strategies to meaningfully engage business, industry, and labor organization

partners in regional CTE efforts. The workgroup engaged Resource Development Associates (RDA) to

support the development of actionable and regionally focused strategies to increase the depth, breadth,

and impact of industry participation in CTE programming. To inform the workgroup’s strategy

development, RDA conducted in-depth interviews and targeted research to identify current regional

practices, key opportunities, and recognized best practices in industry engagement. Key findings in this

report relate to the facilitators of, and barriers to, establishing effective industry partnerships within the

region, which then inform a set of actionable strategies grounded in identified regional strengths and

established best practices.

Findings

Throughout the region, industry engagement with CTE programming takes many forms, with educational

partners employing a range of strategies to outreach to industry and business partners and build sustained

relationships and engagement. The most robust industry-education partnerships include an array of

business, workforce, and community stakeholders and can span multiple educational entities. Strong



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industry-education partnerships are essential to ensuring curricular alignment with workforce needs,

defining clear and achievable career paths for students in CTE programs, and enabling CTE instructors to

stay up-to-date on current workforce skills and changing technologies.

An analysis of data collected during interviews with regional partners and external stakeholders resulted

in a number of key themes relating to industry engagement practices and industry-education partnership

effectiveness in the Southwest Bay Area region, including: 1) industry outreach, 2) industry participation,

3) CTE program alignment with industry needs, and 4) CTE and workforce system coordination. Employing

a SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis framework, RDA identified regional

educational partners’ internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats that

impact industry engagement and partnership within each theme. Detailed findings by theme are

presented in the report, while overarching findings within each SWOT category are presented below.

Internal Factors

The ability of educational partners to forge strong partnerships with industry hinges on their internal

capacity and ability to effectively manage relationships. Interviews with educational partners including

administrators and leadership from high school districts, regional occupational centers/programs

(ROC/Ps), and community colleges pointed to a number of key facilitators of successful industry

engagement and partnership, including:

CTE faculty industry background and personal connections: Across the region, personal

relationships are the primary driver of most industry-education connections. CTE faculty leverage

their backgrounds in key industry sectors to make meaningful links with business and industry

representatives. Individual faculty outreach is essential to industry involvement in CTE programs,

such as providing invaluable industry-related opportunities and experiences for their students,

and is often the first step to more systematic and sustained engagement.

Breadth of CTE pathways and course offerings: Educational partners in the region offer a breadth

and depth of CTE programs, with courses and pathways aligned with key regional industry sectors.

Due to CTE program requirements, having large numbers of CTE programs throughout the region

ensure the abundance of forums for business participation through advisory bodies, mentoring,

and other opportunities.

Existing entities and frameworks supporting industry partnerships: CTE partners throughout the

region participate in a number of regional initiatives and take advantage of many existing regional

frameworks, such as the BACCC’s marketplace initiative, Deputy Sector Navigators, Career

Pathways Trust consortia, and others. These frameworks and initiatives support the collaborative

development of industry partnerships.

Across the region, a number of common barriers emerged, including:

Lack of sustainable infrastructure and funding allocations for CTE-dedicated resources:

Insufficient allocation of resources for CTE programs significantly hinders industry-education

partnerships. Specifically, a lack of administrative infrastructure and CTE-specific resource



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allocations impacts ability to develop mechanisms to support faculty outreach, provide

professional development and networking opportunities, and incorporate additional services and

resources for students into CTE programs.

Minimal coordination between educational institutions in industry-related engagements: The

lack of regional coordination around industry-education partnerships is a significant barrier to

meaningful industry involvement in CTE programming. Individualized and uncoordinated

partnership efforts create frustration for industry partners, result in duplicated and inefficient

activities, obscure the goals and objectives of industry engagement, and foster competition

between education partners for industry connections.

Limited understanding of CTE Program value: Throughout the region, CTE programs are not as

valued or prioritized as four-year degrees, with many education stakeholders, including

counselors, administrators, and executives, placing heavy emphasis on encourage student entry

into four-year postsecondary educational institutions or more traditional transfer-oriented

programs at community colleges. This de-prioritization of CTE programs impacts overall student

enrollment and can be a deterrent to industry participation.

External Factors

External factors, or environmental characteristic beyond the control of educational partners, can

significantly aid or impede effective industry partnerships. Interviews with CTE partners, external

stakeholders, and targeted research pointed to a number of external factors that can significantly impact

regional industry involvement in CTE programming. These opportunities may mitigate the identified

barriers as well as provide contextual challenges that can threaten sustained engagement.

Strategic engagement of intermediary organizations: Across the region, a large variety of

intermediary organizations support educational institutions, industry representatives, and

students. Intermediary organizations of various kinds assist with documenting and matching

industry and education needs, coordinating forums for industry-education collaboration, creating

and managing meaningful work-based learning opportunities, and providing up-to-date

curriculum.

Use of technology-based platforms: Given the concentration of technological innovations and

resources across the region, there are many opportunities to adopt and utilize technology-based

platforms for inventorying CTE program offerings, documenting industry needs and opportunities,

and managing ongoing relationships.

State-level CTE prioritization: The continued prioritization of CTE and workforce development

initiatives at the state level and the presence of grant and other state-funded efforts, such as CCPT

and AB86 for adult education pathways, provides the means for industry sector-specific

organization, regional collaboration, and sustainable infrastructure development.

Threats are external factors that can significantly impede meaningful industry engagement. Across the

region, key threats include:



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Industry buy-in and capacity to sustain engagement: Industry partnership efforts are often

hampered by industry partners’ lack of adequate resources devoted to the relationship. Effective

industry-education partnerships can necessitate a significant time and resource investment from

businesses, requiring buy-in from leadership who may not currently be participating in local CTE

efforts.

Misalignment of industry need and CTE student preparation: Industry needs for student

engagement often differ from educational institutions’ purposes for partnering with industries.

Given the level of competition and priority recruitment given to holders of Bachelor’s degrees and

higher, many CTE program curricula designed to provide advanced technical skills trainings may

be mismatched with the actual levels of positions available and open to individuals entering the

workforce with CTE certificates.

Inadequacy of CTE funding mechanisms to support consistent regional practices: The lack of

categorical funding at the state level impacts virtually every aspect of CTE programming, including

both industry engagement, and the ability to allocate adequate funds for administrative support,

provide professional development opportunities for faculty, and provide adequate soft skills

training for students, and incorporate innovative instruction techniques that keep the pace with

industry demands.

Recommendations and Strategies

The factors identified through the SWOT analysis serve to inform the Southwest Bay Area’s regional CTE

strategy development and action planning to build effective industry partnerships by supporting

successful strategies and leveraging existing resources, changing ineffective practices, identifying

opportunities for growth, and minimizing obstacles.

Considering the key facilitators, barriers, opportunities, and challenges to meaningful industry

involvement in the region, the SB 1070 Intersegmental Industry Engagement Workgroup has identified a

number of overarching recommendations to support future SB 1070 and CTE education-industry

engagement efforts:

Coordinate Regional Outreach and Engagement Strategies: Scale local successful practices to a

regional level in order to minimize duplicative industry outreach efforts and streamline CTE

programming offerings.

Establish Practices that Enhance Industry Participation: Mitigate external barriers, such as

industry partners’ limited capacity, through proactive industry engagement that efficiently utilizes

industry representatives’ limited time and availability.

Develop Mechanisms to Increase CTE Responsiveness to Industry Needs: Explore innovative

opportunities to ensure CTE program relevance to ensure the ability to offer industry partners

with solutions to their workforce needs.

Understand and Leverage Existing Assets and Resources: Capitalize on existing efforts, untapped

resources, and potential partners to overcome barriers and threats to system-wide coordination.

Enhance Stakeholder Understanding of CTE Benefits: Increase CTE program and pathway

visibility to generate buy-in from all potential CTE stakeholders throughout the region.



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The report provides detailed recommendations and actionable strategies within each overarching

recommendation category. Considered together, the recommendations and strategies can inform the

creation of a comprehensive plan to engage and sustain meaningful participation of essential industry

partners across the Southwest Bay Area region. A number of identified strategies can be leveraged across

categories of recommendations, including:

Identify and partner with an intermediary organization to provide backbone support that will

coordinate outreach and engagement, consolidate and streamline existing resources, and

efficiently allocate funds to partners with well-defined roles and responsibilities.

Develop a regional industry partnership plan with clear goals, objectives, and benchmarks that

aligns CTE programs by regional industry sector to begin scaling-up advisory activities, tracking

outcomes, and measuring impacts.

Explore technology-based mechanisms for outreach, engagement, and partnership, such as

establishing an interactive online database or portal to inventory regional CTE programs,

partnership opportunities, and industry workforce needs, in order to leverage system strengths,

enable industry partners to easily understand CTE program value, and consolidate outreach

efforts.

Increase advocacy and marketing around CTE benefits to all regional and external stakeholders,

including industry and education leadership, state officials, high school counselors, parents, and

students. Efforts could include exploring social media platforms, community forums, and other

venues to increase CTE exposure and raise awareness about its benefits for local students and

businesses.

Further consideration of these findings and implementation of the identified strategies will result in

increased regional capacity to successfully engage key industry partners to support the Consortium in its

endeavor to align regional CTE programming with workforce demand, increase opportunities for students,

and contribute to the overall economic well-being of the Southwest Bay Area region.



Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | vi

Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ i

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1

Industry Partnerships Research Project .................................................................................................... 1

Industry Engagement Overview ..........................................................................................................5

CTE Industry-Education Partnerships ....................................................................................................... 5

Best Practices for Partnership ................................................................................................................... 6

Continuum of Industry Engagement in the Southwest Bay Area ............................................................. 7

Key Findings.......................................................................................................................................9

SWOT Analysis........................................................................................................................................... 9

Industry Outreach ................................................................................................................................... 11

Industry Participation.............................................................................................................................. 15

Industry-Relevant CTE Programming ...................................................................................................... 18

CTE/Workforce System Coordination ..................................................................................................... 21

Recommendations and Strategies .................................................................................................... 24

Coordinate Regional Outreach and Engagement Strategies .................................................................. 24

Establish Practices that Enhance Industry Participation ......................................................................... 27

Develop Mechanisms to Increase CTE Responsiveness to Industry Needs ............................................ 29

Understand and Leverage Existing Assets and Resources ...................................................................... 31

Enhance Stakeholder Understanding of CTE Benefits ............................................................................ 33

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 35

Appendix – High School District CTE Program Inventories .................................................................. 36



Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 1

Introduction

California’s Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) legislation establishes the Career Technical Education (CTE)

Pathways Program, which requires the State’s economic and workforce regional development centers and

consortia, community colleges, middle schools, high schools, and regional occupational centers and

programs to improve linkages and career technical education pathways between high schools and

community colleges. SB 1070 requires that this assistance be provided in the form of contracts and

Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) that demonstrate a plan for close collaboration among regional

institutions and entities to jointly accomplish specified goals.1 The SB 1070 Southwest Pathways

Consortium (Consortium), a partnership effort between fourteen community college districts and over

thirty K-12 school districts, is the local regional organizing body for implementation of the legislation.

Consortium participation is geographically framed by the southwest region of the San Francisco Bay Area,

from San Francisco through San Jose, Silicon Valley, and continuing south to Monterey.

The overall aim of the Southwest Pathways Consortium’s SB 1070 current three-year project is to align

regional CTE programming, policies, and procedures with secondary education and training programs as

well as workforce demand. The project goals are to increase student success in post-secondary education

and training in careers of high need, high growth, or emerging regional sectors, to be achieved by

leveraging regional resources, leadership, and investments. The Consortium is comprised of five

workgroups: 1) Systems Alignment; 2) Professional Development/Best Practices; 3) Intersegmental

Industry Engagement; 4) Data Systems Strategy; and 5) Communications, Marketing, and Dissemination.

Through a series of meetings and research activities from February through October 2014, each

workgroup identified its specific priorities for the Consortium’s strategic tasks in the next two years.

Industry Partnerships Research Project

The Consortium’s Intersegmental Industry Engagement workgroup (workgroup) engaged Resource

Development Associates (RDA) to collect, analyze, and present pivotal information to support the

workgroup’s aim of developing and implementing strategies for meaningfully engaging business and

industry partners in CTE efforts. RDA conducted research activities to explore the approaches and

strategies that Consortium institutions – as well as institutions across California and nationally – engage

in establishing industry partnerships that provide opportunities for K-12 and community college students

to gain real-world work experiences while receiving their CTE education. In particular, RDA explored the

current needs and gaps in developing industry partnerships and employment opportunities for local high

school and college community students in CTE pathways programs.

RDA conducted a large variety of in-depth interviews with key informants from across the Southwest Bay

Area region as the primary research method We used a “snowball” outreach method, working with the

1 California S.B. 1070. Education Commission of the States. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.ecs.org/ecs/ecscat.nsf/cc052fc585bae58c87257979006e0996/56f5fadcddbf742587257a8a005eb365?OpenDocument

http://www.ecs.org/ecs/ecscat.nsf/cc052fc585bae58c87257979006e0996/56f5fadcddbf742587257a8a005eb365?OpenDocument

http://www.ecs.org/ecs/ecscat.nsf/cc052fc585bae58c87257979006e0996/56f5fadcddbf742587257a8a005eb365?OpenDocument




Intersegmental Industry Engagement workgroup members to identify the initial set of those to be

interviewed, and obtaining referrals for other informants of interest from interviewees. Interviews were

conducted via phone.

In total, RDA conducted 36 interviews with officials from the following types of entities either participating

and/or knowledgeable about the region’s CTE pathways opportunities:

Community college districts

High school districts

Deputy Sector Navigators

Sector Navigators

Metropolitan Education District (MetroED)

Regional Occupational Centers and Programs

Workforce Investment Boards

Intermediary institutions that support workforce linkages between high school districts,

community colleges, students, and industry officials/opportunities

The following table details the specific organizations that RDA conducted interviews with.

Table 1. Organizations Interviewed for Industry Partnerships Research Project

Community College Districts Deputy Sector Navigators

Cabrillo College Agriculture, Water & Environmental Technologies

Cañada College Life Sciences & Biotechnology

College of San Mateo Small Business

Evergreen Valley College Sector Navigators

Foothill College Advanced Manufacturing

Gavilan College Energy Efficiency

Mission College Health

West Valley College Industry Representatives

High School Districts Blach Construction

Campbell Union High School District IBM

Campbell Union School District PG&E

East Side Union High School District Rudolph and Sletten General Engineering

Fremont Union High School District Metropolitan Education District (MetroED)

Gilroy Unified School District Regional Occupational Centers and Programs

Morgan Hill Unified School District Mission Valley ROP

Pajaro Valley Unified School District Santa Cruz ROP

Palo Alto Unified School District Workforce Investment Boards

San Francisco Unified School District NOVA

San Jose Unified School District Santa Cruz WIB

San Mateo Union High School District Work2Future

Santa Clara County Office of Education Workforce Intermediaries

Santa Clara Unified School District JobTrain

Junior Achievement

Jewish Vocational Services

TransMosis

Workforce Incubator

WorkReadyGrad (Atlanta, GA)




In addition to key informant interviews, RDA also conducted targeted research to explore the established

local, statewide, and national practices for establishing CTE industry and education partnerships. RDA

consulted existing data sources and conducted a literature review of best and promising practices for this

topic. During its interviews with community college, high school, and occupational entities officials, RDA

also sought references to specific resources or institutions that were relevant to supporting industry

engagement for CTE students.

RDA leveraged the expertise of workgroup members throughout the project period, working

collaboratively with the workgroup to inform the research approach, selection of interview participants,

and identification and refinement of key findings. On a monthly basis between June-August 2015, RDA led

conference calls with all members of the workgroup in which RDA: 1) presented highlights of findings as

they emerged; 2) sought feedback from workgroup members to validate those findings; and 3) received

direction from workgroup members on potential new avenues of exploration and/or additional lines of

questioning to incorporate into RDA’s subsequent research interviews. These monthly workgroup

conference calls were instrumental in ensuring that the team obtained information that was relevant and

actionable for the workgroup.

In September 2015, RDA led two online webinars with all members of the Intersegmental Industry

Engagement workgroup. In the first webinar, RDA presented a thorough presentation of the four main

themes that emerged throughout the research project: 1) Educational outreach to industry; 2) Industry

participation; 3) Industry-relevant CTE programming; and 4) CTE/Workforce system coordination. RDA

applied a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) approach to the data analysis and

presentation of findings for each of the four themes. The team then sought feedback from the workgroup

members, focusing on actionable strategies that might be pursued based on these findings. In the second

webinar, RDA presented a series of recommended strategies for the workgroup to consider promoting in

the region moving forward. The workgroup members then provided in-depth feedback on these strategies

that served to validate and augment the full list of recommendations that the workgroup proposes for the

region.

This report provides detailed information on both the four themes that RDA identified as well as the full

set of recommended strategies that the Intersegmental Industry Engagement workgroup proposes for the

Southwest Bay Area region moving forward.

A variety of acronyms and terms are used when talking about Career Technical Education and SB 1070

processes in the region. Below is a listing of some of the key terms that will serve in better understanding

the findings and recommendations presented in this report.




Table 2. Key Terms

Acronym/ Term Description

BA Bachelor of Arts Degree

CBO Community-Based Organization

CC Community College

CPT California Career Pathways Trust Grant

Funding

CTE Career Technical Education

DSN Deputy Sector Navigator

HS High School

ICT Information and Communication

Technologies (CTE Pathway)

IP Industry Participation

MetroED Metropolitan Education District

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

PS Post-Secondary Education

ROC/P Regional Occupation Centers and Programs

SB 1070 Senate Bill 1070

SN Sector Navigator

SWOT Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-

Threats Analysis

SWPC Southwest Pathways Consortium

WIB Workforce Investment Board




Industry Engagement Overview

The SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium includes five primary and interrelated areas of focus: 1)

Systems Alignment; 2) Data Systems; 3) Professional Development and Best Practices; 4) Intersegmental

Industry Engagement; and 5) Marketing, Communications, and Dissemination. Taken together, the efforts

of each workgroup will serve to align regional CTE programming, policies, and procedures. Industry

engagement is essential to the creation, implementation, and success of regional CTE strategies. This

section provides an overview of the benefits of industry involvement in CTE programs, highlights best

practices that support meaningful industry partnerships, and describes the continuum of industry

involvement in the Southwest Bay Area region.

CTE Industry-Education Partnerships

Establishing robust industry-education partnerships is an essential endeavor for all education entities

providing career technical education (CTE) to students in secondary and post-secondary education

settings. Collaboration with industries, businesses, and professionals is a core component of CTE

programs, as close partnership with industry enables CTE program faculty and administrators to develop

curriculum and instructional models that are aligned with the California State Standards, entry-level

industry competencies, and the needs and expectations of local employers in key local and regional

industry sectors. Industry-education partnerships can include a wide array of stakeholders, including:

individual businesses, groups of firms, professional organizations such as unions and industry associations,

and other supportive organizations such as chambers of commerce, workforce investment boards, other

local government agencies or representatives, and non-profit and community-based organizations.

Through successful industry-education partnerships, CTE programs can help students better prepare for

the workforce, help meet the needs of students in need of support to successfully enter the professional

realm, address local and regional workforce needs, and significantly contribute to the growth and well-

being of local and regional economies. The benefits of industry-education partnerships include:

Curricular alignment with workforce needs: Partnerships can enable CTE providers to update

curricula and instructional practices to better prepare students to fill critical gaps in the regional

workforce. Employers and industry partners play a key role in identifying current and emerging

workforce needs and industry-valued skills, and developing curricula aligned to those skills and

positions.

Clear and achievable career paths and career readiness skills: Industry partnerships can provide

increased opportunity for students to take part in meaningful on-the-job experiences while

enrolled in CTE courses, which significantly impacts students’ ability to successfully enter the

workforce.

Professional development: Industry involvement with CTE programs can ensure that CTE faculty

and staff have access to continued professional and skill development to increase their abilities

to provide industry-aligned curricula, project-based learning, and contextualized professional

skills integration.




Improved workforce pipeline: Businesses benefit significantly from partnerships with CTE

programs as students enrolled in CTE courses closely aligned with industry sectors provide a pool

of trained workers to address potential workforce challenges and hiring shortfalls.

Alignment of current workforce skills to changing technologies and standards: Relationships

with education entities also provide opportunities for business and industry partners to explore

avenues for training incumbent workers to keep pace with changing industry standards or

technological advances.

Best Practices for Partnership

While industry-education partnerships can take many forms – as well as employ a wide-range of strategies

to ensure educational alignment with workforce needs and improve employment outcomes for CTE-

certified students – the most robust, successful, and collaborative partnerships share similar processes.

Specifically, steps to ensuring effective industry-education partnerships include:

1. Recognize a local/regional workforce opportunity or challenge

2. Establish a shared mission and goals

3. Clearly define partners’ roles and responsibilities

4. Generate strong buy-in from business and educational leadership

5. Develop governance guidelines, accountability processes, and administrative infrastructure

6. Evaluate outcomes to continually adjust and improve strategies and approaches

A number of key factors can impact the effectiveness and impact of industry-education partnerships.

Industry-led partnerships are generally seen as opportunities to achieve complex goals and objectives and

have meaningful and lasting influence over: 1) CTE students’ educational attainment and employment

outcomes; 2) education partners’ relevance and continuous improvement; and 3) businesses’ abilities to

recognize the benefits of partnership. Additional characteristics of successful partnerships include:

sufficient resources for lasting infrastructure, inclusivity of all relevant stakeholders, and strategic

alignment with similar efforts in other regions or districts or targeting other industry sectors. Figure 1

provides a depiction of commonly identified characteristics of successful industry-education partnerships.




Figure 1. Characteristics of Successful Industry-Education Partnerships

Continuum of Industry Engagement in the Southwest Bay Area

Industry engagement with CTE programming in the Southwest Bay Area takes many forms, ranging from

business or professional involvement at the individual district, school, or classroom levels to collaborative,

multi-faceted partnerships with networks of employers spanning regional industry sectors. The various

levels of industry involvement in the region can be understood as a continuum of engagement, with

participation at each level essential to ensuring continuous and meaningful industry involvement in CTE

programs. Figure 2 presents the continuum of engagement as it appears in the Southwest Bay Area region.




Figure 2. Continuum of Industry Engagement

The ways in which educational entities and companies interact with each other are diverse and multi-

faceted; relationships exist at every level and some industry partners are engaged at multiple points along

the continuum. Several factors contribute to both the ability of education partners to engage industry as

well as the desire and ability of industry partners to participate. Many of the most promising and effective

industry partners begin their CTE engagements with awareness-raising efforts and then continually grow

their contributions over time as benefits are demonstrated by their industry involvement. External

circumstances, leadership buy-in, funding opportunities, and the ability of education partners to

coordinate and leverage existing industry engagement efforts impact the ability of education partners to

successfully engage industry partners in activities and processes that strengthen the regional system of

CTE program offerings. Key issues impacting industry engagement practices and industry-partnership

effectiveness, as well as identified strategies and recommendations to increase regional industry

involvement, are presented in the following sections.




Key Findings

This section looks across the industry partnership efforts of regional educational entities to provide an

overview of key facilitators, barriers, opportunities, and challenges to meaningful industry involvement in

CTE programs across the Southwest Bay Area region.

SWOT Analysis

RDA used data collected through interviews and external research to conduct a comprehensive SWOT

analysis to assess the current state of industry engagement practices, identify opportunities for

improvement, and inform the development of regional industry engagement strategies designed to

support meaningful industry participation in key sectors throughout the region. The SWOT analysis

documents CTE education partners’ internal capabilities and external environment relating to building

successful industry partnerships. CTE partners include: high schools, regional occupational

centers/programs (ROC/Ps), and community colleges.

Figure 3 presents a visual representation of the SWOT analysis framework. The diagram’s top half

describes the internal facilitators and barriers to successful industry partnerships and meaningful

engagement. The lower half presents identified opportunities to leverage external resources and the

contextual challenges that may threaten meaningful industry participation.

Figure 3. SWOT Analysis Framework

Interviews with CTE stakeholders in the region, including CTE faculty and administrators, industry

partners, and other workforce development entities, literature reviews, and best practices research

informed RDA’s identification of four key themes relating to industry participation in CTE programming.

The themes include: 1) industry outreach, 2) industry participation, 3) CTE program alignment with




industry needs, and 4) CTE and workforce system coordination. Each theme is described below with its

corresponding SWOT diagram and written synthesis of key findings. The SWOT analysis serves to inform

the Southwest Bay Area’s regional strategy development and action planning to build effective industry

partnerships by supporting successful strategies and leveraging existing resources, changing ineffective

practices, identifying opportunities for grown, and minimizing obstacles. Regional recommendations and

strategies are presented in the next section of this report.




Industry Outreach

Education partners throughout the region use various methods to engage industry representatives and

manage ongoing relationships. Effective outreach and relationship building strategies can support

sustained and meaningful industry engagement in CTE programming and provide industry partners the

option to participate at all stages of the industry engagement spectrum. Interviews with educational CTE

stakeholders pointed to a number of key factors impacting education partners’ outreach and engagement

efforts, including: resource availability, administrative capacity and supportive infrastructure, strength of

faculty connection to industry partners, and connection and partnership with supportive regional

structures or professional networks.

In general, outreach to industry partners occurs on a program or individual faculty level, with personal

relationships driving most industry-education connections. Interviews with industry partners and regional

workforce development entities point to a wide array of outreach strategies across the region that vary

in effectiveness and impact.

Figure 4. Industry Outreach SWOT Analysis

Effective outreach to industry partners is facilitated by a number of factors internal to both high school

and community college CTE stakeholders. Education partners with successful industry engagement

reported similar characteristics, including: strong faculty connections to industry, administrative and




infrastructure support for relationship building, clear communication of benefits and objectives of

industry engagement to potential partners, and strong relationships with supportive external

organizations. Interview participants identified the personal connections that CTE faculty and leadership

have with industry partners in many of the region’s identified high-need/high-growth sectors as the

greatest facilitator of effective industry outreach. Faculty dedication to leveraging industry connections

has resulted in a number of effective local partnerships that provide work-based learning opportunities

for students, in-school mentorship programs, and occasional job placement agreements.

Moreover, industry outreach in the region has generated a number of meaningful relationships with large

regional employers that resulted in the creation of CTE programs and job placements for students that

are valued by industry. According to those interviewed, community college faculty and administrators are

more likely to have significant industry experience prior to their CTE-related positions, and therefore are

best positioned to make meaningful connections and/or leverage existing relationships with individuals

or businesses.

Successful outreach to industry partners is often supported by administrative practices, dedicated

resources, and infrastructure. Some CTE partners reported ensuring that faculty have protected time for

industry outreach as well as providing administrative support from CTE coordinators to organize

engagement activities (e.g., lunch meetings and campus visits). Further, one CTE coordinator noted that

relationship management is aided by the use of an industry partnerships database, which allows program

coordinators and faculty to collaborate on industry outreach. A small number of high school and

community college partners reported having funding allocations for internship or workforce developers

in addition to the CTE coordinator role.

Industry outreach is also supported by partnerships with external organizations who can act as a bridge

between education and industry partners. Some CTE providers reported having contracts with non-profit

agencies dedicated to youth and workforce development who are situated to match education and

industry partners and coordinate engagement activities. Examples of such organizations include Jewish

Vocational Services, Junior Achievement, Teenforce, and Year-UP.

While CTE providers throughout the Southwest Bay Area region are successfully engaging industry

partners through a number of strategies, CTE stakeholders described various barriers to effective industry

outreach. A key barrier communicated by CTE providers is the insufficient allocation of resources for CTE

administrative infrastructure and CTE-specific work-based learning, internship, and/or industry

partnership developers.

Other interviewees reported engaging with campus job development or career centers, however noted

these positions and resources are often not CTE-specific. CTE faculty and coordinators noted that in the

absence of such dedicated and CTE-specific positions, industry outreach becomes an individual endeavor

for high school superintendents and counselors as well as CTE deans, coordinators, and faculty who have

competing priorities and limited time. As such, industry outreach generally occurs on the individual CTE




program or course level, with or without administrative support. This individualized outreach often results

in competition between CTE providers for a small pool of engaged industry partners.

For both CTE providers and industry partners, the most significant obstacle to outreach is making the

connection from the school to the business. Though regional structures – such as the network of Deputy

Sector Navigators (DSNs) are in place to support those connections – both CTE providers and industry

partners were often unclear about how to engage with DSNs. In general, few CTE stakeholders reported

participating in regional marketplace events or in other existing regional bodies such as chambers of

commerce or professional associations.

The most commonly articulated issues include the lack of coordination of individual outreach efforts and

funding allocations that do not support or prioritize dedicated CTE resources. Though CTE stakeholders

noted many examples of successful industry outreach strategies on a program or district level, a lack of

regional coordination around industry outreach is a significant barrier to meaningful industry involvement

in CTE programming. As a result of minimal coordination between engagement efforts, industry partners

expressed frustration about having to communicate with multiple points of contact from CTE education

partners. This extra work can impact their ability or desire to meaningfully participate, especially if

multiple requests come from various education entities without coordinated “asks.”

Individualized and uncoordinated outreach may impact industry representatives’ understanding of the

goals and objectives of industry engagement with CTE programs. Industry representatives as well as some

CTE administrators noted that CTE faculty often do not “speak the language” of their business partners or

make clear connections between industry engagement in CTE and industry benefits. Many industry

partners expressed a desire to proactively reach out to CTE providers, but they are often unclear of where

the connection should be made, noting that a single point of contact or consolidated source of information

would minimize confusion.

Leveraging external resources and capitalizing on environmental factors and key characteristics of the

regional industry and workforce development landscape can provide important opportunities to increase

the impact of education partners’ industry outreach activities. Interviews with CTE stakeholders pointed

to a wealth of existing regional structures and established professional networks that may provide venues

for outreach and recruitment, as well as external organizations with close ties to both industry and

education partners that can broker relationships and coordinate outreach efforts.

Though not common across CTE stakeholder in the region, some high school CTE officials reported

participating actively in their local Chambers of Commerce, some of which have business education

and/or workforce development subcommittees. The participation of education entities in such

subcommittees is an opportunity to interface directly with local business leaders and provides an avenue

through which to collectively identify local priorities for workforce education. Similarly, Sector Navigators

working statewide expressed that educational entities can connect with industry representatives through

participation in external professional association meetings or outreach to association leadership. Many

professional associations have staff or committees dedicated to workforce issues and solutions.




Many CTE coordinators expressed the need for an external organization to support or manage industry

engagement on behalf of CTE programs. Throughout the region, there are a number of organizations –

both for- and non-profit – situated as workforce intermediaries. These organizations have close ties to

both industry and education partners and can be essential in identifying and matching the needs of each

partner. Intermediary organizations can coordinate a wide range of industry involvement in education

programming, including: project-specific events like work-based field trips, arranging for in-school visits

or co-teaching opportunities for interested industry representatives, developing job placement programs

and internship opportunities, and providing up-to-date and industry approved curriculum.

Intermediary organizations may be especially helpful in connecting education partners with industry

representatives from small and mid-sized organizations that may not have the capacity to manage

education engagement, but who may benefit from education partnerships more directly or immediately

than large corporations. Workforce intermediary representatives indicated that start-ups and small

businesses are prime partners for educational institutions and, with support, may be open to partnership

as CTE programs can directly address their pressing workforce needs as they compete with larger

corporations for a skilled workforce.

There are many factors that obstruct industry participation at the levels required for meaningful

engagement and desired impact. Industry desire to engage can be affected by many things, but the most

common factor identified by interview participants was the confusion that many industry representatives

have around the mutual benefits of business-education partnerships. Many industry representatives view

CTE partnership as an altruistic or philanthropic endeavor and often view the significant costs of

expending the time required for meaningful industry participation as contributing to something greater

than the potential industry benefits from participation. In the same vein, education and industry partners

expressed that many industry representatives may be initially wary of outreach efforts due to the common

conception that education partners’ ultimate goals of industry partnership are for monetary support.

While monetary or in-kind support is often a means through which industry supports CTE, the wider

spectrum of industry engagement is often not known to industry partners.

Additionally, many industry and education stakeholders expressed that industry partners often lack the

internal capacities to meaningfully engage with education partners, even if their desire to partner is

present. Small- and medium-sized businesses, for example, often do not have resources dedicated to

community partnerships or internships development, and engagement with larger corporations is often

through a prescribed process that may not take into account variation in education partners’ needs – this

generally results in the similar types of support (e.g., equipment and monetary donations). Moreover, for

both small businesses and large corporations, it is often difficult for education partners to determine who

the appropriate contact person is for these kinds of CTE partnership conversations.




Industry Participation

Nearly all CTE faculty, coordinators, and deans pointed to having at least one industry or business partner

for their CTE program. For most educational entities, the primary mechanism for industry participation is

the CTE advisory board or committee, which plays an integral part in shaping CTE curricula development

at high schools, ROC/Ps, and community colleges, and ensuring that CTE programs remain in touch with

the needs of local business and industry. Many factors can support or hinder industry participation,

including: the effective use of industry representatives’ time, the resources of both education and industry

partners, buy-in at appropriate levels, clearly defined objectives for participation, and the ability to track

success of collaborative efforts and show results.

Figure 5. Industry Participation SWOT Analysis

Advisory board participation was the most commonly mentioned mechanism of industry participation –

most programs had at least some industry engagement through various program advisories. At the high

school level, advisory committees generally engage local business partners who can provide mentoring,

job shadowing, and occasional employment or internship opportunities for high school students. At the

community college level, some advisory bodies in key industry sectors have been able to engage larger

industry partners in tailored program development. Because most advisory boards meet between one

and two times per year, the commitment required from industry partners is low. The advisory committee




can be a great tool to establish relationships with industry partners, and some high school partners

expressed that while program-specific CTE advisory boards are useful, district-level boards have the

potential to attract industry participants at higher levels.

Some of the most robust industry participation at the community college level occurs in CTE programs

with state regulated certifications or degree requirements and curriculum standards, such as many

healthcare sector programs like nursing, medical assisting, and allied health. Schools generally have strong

connections with employers in these fields as internships and work placement are often required for

program completion. CTE administrators also pointed to strong partnerships within companies in

industries that have identified clear regional workforce needs and industry-valued credentials that

prepare students to fill those roles. Industry-led CTE initiatives such as the PG&E PowerPathways program

have demonstrated success in job placement for students and have fostered ongoing relationships

between sector partners and community colleges.

CTE stakeholders also expressed that industry participation is supported by mechanisms that build

guidelines and accountability for partnership into program requirements. Many CTE educators and

administrators pointed to California Partnership Academies (CPAs) at the high school level as models of

industry engagement. CPA funding requirements stipulate industry involvement beyond standard

advisory board mandates as all CPA designated programs must demonstrate industry participation or

support that is equivalent to the state’s level of program funding. Additionally, some community college

and K-12 school districts have established Project Labor Agreements, in which it is stipulated that a certain

number of work-based learning, apprenticeship opportunities must go to students enrolled in CTE

programs.

Though CTE advisory boards were mentioned by all education stakeholders as important avenues for

industry engagement, many also acknowledged that advisory bodies often have little to no industry

participation. CTE administrators reported that even when industry representatives are present,

employees involved in advisory bodies are often not decision-makers within organizations who can

generate enough buy-in from business leadership to ensure buy-in required to build stronger

relationships. Moreover, minimal requirements governing advisory board meetings result in infrequent

meetings that—due to required activities—often do not provide a forum for engaging industry partners

in identifying their needs.

Though stakeholders throughout the region echoed the understanding that the most successful industry

partnership efforts result from educational partners’ abilities to provide solutions to industry-identified

projects and problems, industry-led partnerships are rare. Both industry and education representatives

expressed that the lack of standard or regional infrastructure and mechanisms to document and match

industry and education needs was a significant barrier to industry-led engagement. Additionally, most CTE

programs lack the capacity to collect and share data on student performance, job placements, and local

workforce needs, impacting the ability of CTE providers to clearly articulate industry benefits.




Educational entities and CTE providers can leverage a number of opportunities to enhance industry

participation. Regional industry sectors have significant workforce needs, and CTE programs—particularly

at the community college level—are poised to offer solutions to address those needs. Some community

college partners explained that contract education agreements—providing training for incumbent

workers—with industry partners can provide a means of directly engaging businesses around specific

needs relating to their current workforce. Assisting business partners in proactively addressing pressing

needs through providing avenues to train its workforce tailored to industry standards provides clear

benefits to both business partners. Moreover, contract education provides industry-tailored curriculum

that can often be converted and adopted for CTE programs.

Industry and workforce development partners expressed that there is an opportunity to coordinate

industry participation in CTE programming through leveraging the work of Existing industry CTE

collaborative structures—including the construction-focused S4C or industry- and employer-led interest

groups like Bay Area Council or the Silicon Valley Leadership Group—by utilizing exiting venues as

opportunities for collaboration. Additionally, many CTE stakeholders expressed collaborative structures

supported by grant funding mechanisms provide opportunities to combine resources more efficiently to

maximize the impacts of industry participation. Stakeholders pointed to the work of consortia in other

counties and states that have consolidated grant funding streams and strategically allocated funds for

coordinated industry partnership practices, including: funding allocations for district-level industry

partnership developers, contracting with intermediary conveners, and establishing technology-enabled

mechanisms for partnership.

The most commonly articulated challenges to industry participation revolve around the lack of buy-in at

higher managerial and leadership levels within industry partnerships and industry partners’ lack of

capacity and infrastructure to sustain meaningful partnerships and ongoing opportunities for students.

Education and workforce development stakeholders noted that currently, businesses and industry

representatives feel they have few incentives to partner with educational institutions or invest time and

money into work-based learning, internship, and job placement opportunities for students in CTE

pathways. Many regional industry partners are focused primarily on partnership with and recruitment

from four-year universities as they are often competing to attract a highly skilled workforce.

Industry partners who are actively involved with CTE programs and are currently partnering to provide

internship or work-based learning opportunities expressed that they often lack resources to effectively

manage those activities. Industry partners expressed that support from the educational partner or

intermediary organization in terms of managing and monitoring student interns, or providing clear

guidelines are learning objectives for student interns, would help them and potentially allow them to offer

more internship opportunities to CTE students.




Industry-Relevant CTE Programming

Though one of the goals of industry engagement in CTE is to ensure that educational curriculum is up to

date, the level of CTE programming’s responsiveness to regional workforce and industry partners’ needs

can have an impact on industry perceptions of the value of CTE programming and education partners’

abilities to engage industry partners in CTE program and pathway refinement.

Figure 6. Industry-Relevant Programming SWOT Analysis

Education entities throughout the region share a number of key characteristics and practices that support

CTE programs’ ability to meet the needs of regional industry partners. Interviews with CTE faculty and

administrators revealed the breadth and depth of CTE course offerings in the region. Most of the regions’

identified priority and emerging industry sectors are well represented in CTE courses, academies, and

pathways (see “Appendix – High School District CTE Program Inventories” for high school CTE program

information). Advisory boards for CTE program areas are instrumental in providing curriculum updates to

ensure alignment with industry standards in established programs with clear requirements.

CTE faculty and administrators pointed to a number of other means through which high school and

community colleges are able to provide relevant programming to students, including establishing multi-

district partnerships – or Joint Powers Authority (JPA) agreements for ROC/P programs like Metropolitan

Education District (MetroED) in Santa Clara County – that provide an extensive catalogue of CTE offerings




in key sectors. ROC/Ps can often implement flexible programming that is responsive to changing standards

in established industries or emerging regional sectors. Similarly, community college partners described

implementing community education or pilot programs as a means of introducing, testing, and

institutionalizing curricula aligned to standards in emerging industries without current established

programs or guidelines.

Despite the robust and relatively responsive CTE programming identified by stakeholders, interview

participants described a host of obstacles influencing industry partners’ perception of regional CTE

program effectiveness. Nearly every interviewee discussed the perception that CTE students often lack

adequate “soft” or “career readiness” skills that employers view as essential to success in a professional

environment. CTE faculty and administrators recognized that CTE programming does not adequately

incorporate soft-skills training into programs and provide limited opportunities for soft skills workshops

in addition to CTE programming. Industry partners view the absence of robust soft skills training

opportunities for students as a significant barrier in the recruitment and employment of CTE students,

regardless of their preparation and training in the technical skills required for professional positions.

Another element influencing CTE program alignment with industry standards is the ability of educational

entities to recruit, retain, and ensure the continued professional development of CTE-certificated teachers

with adequate industry experience. Many CTE administrators at both the secondary and post-secondary

levels outlined the difficulties that many programs have recruiting CTE faculty with recent relevant

industry experience, citing comparably low salary offerings, inflexible credentialing requirements, and lack

of credentialing programs in or near the region as prohibitive for many potential CTE faculty members.

For current CTE faculty, the ability to ensure that their curriculum and students’ experiences in CTE

programs adequately prepares students for entry into the workforce is often dependent on faculty

members’ ongoing professional development. Stakeholders across the board stressed the importance of

professional development for CTE faculty in order to stay current on industry advancements, however,

they also acknowledged that throughout the region opportunities and requirements for professional

development vary significantly. For example, some entities provide funding for and require at least a small

number of annual professional development activities, while others neither fund nor require them.

Representatives of private organizations engaged in CTE and workforce development pointed out that

community colleges and high school CTE curriculum changes or additions must go through many

bureaucratic processes before eventual approval and implementation. Given the fast-paced nature of

many businesses in key regional sectors, this can impact the ability of CTE programs to respond to

changing industry standards. Private partners—workforce intermediaries, job training organizations, or

other organizations engaged in curriculum development—can face fewer barriers relating to curriculum

approval. Community colleges and high schools may be able to work with these organizations to

implement curricula created specifically to industry standards in traditional CTE settings.




Numerous CTE stakeholders identified the potential of implementing technology-enabled learning

solutions that can provide the means for both CTE students and faculty to receive critical training designed

to increase CTE-program responsiveness to industry needs. E-learning platforms designed to engage

students in soft skills development are both efficient and accessible mechanisms to incorporate career

readiness training into CTE programs. Web-based learning can also support professional development of

faculty, allowing education partners across the region to collaborate on opportunities and share resources

across programs and entities.

CTE faculty and administrators recognized that despite efforts of education entities to ensure curricula

keeps pace with changing industry standards, requirements governing the curriculum updating and

approval processes often create significant lag time between the identification of a need for curriculum

revision and the eventual implementation of new program standards and requirements. Additionally,

some stakeholders expressed that CTE curriculum is often aligned not with regional industry standards,

but with national CTE certification standards, which may not be reflective of regional sector nuances. For

these reasons, many external CTE stakeholders expressed the view that community colleges are not

responsive enough to changing industry and regional workforce needs, a view often reflected by industry

partners.

The other major factor articulated by CTE stakeholders relates to a misalignment between CTE program

goals, objectives, and expectations, and realistic employment opportunities for CTE students, particularly

in certain high tech career or other advanced industry sectors. Sector navigators with experience creating

pathways aligned with specific regional occupational clusters expressed that many CTE program curricula

designed to provide advanced technical skills trainings may be mismatched with the actual levels of

positions available and open to individuals entering the workforce with CTE certificates. Sector navigators

note that for many students enrolled in CTE pathways, entry-level certifications in key industry sectors

are essential for ensuring successful entry into the workforce. Entry-level certifications tailored to

industry-specific standards can be valuable for students in the Southwest Bay Area region given the level

of competition and priority recruitment given to holders of Bachelor’s degrees and higher.




CTE/Workforce System Coordination

Collaboration around CTE programming is being prioritized by many initiatives at the State and regional

level, however, the success of those collaborative efforts will be determined by the ability of relevant

partners to build trusting and lasting relationships around a common agenda, supported by sustainable

funding and lasting infrastructure. The levels of coordination within and across education partner entities

in the Southwest Bay Area region and other relevant regional workforce development organizations and

initiatives is influenced by a number of factors, including: funding sources and allocation decisions, ability

to share data within and across systems to document outcomes, and institutional requirements regarding

CTE program structure and implementation.

Figure 7. CTE/Workforce System Coordination SWOT Analysis

CTE programs and pathways are gaining traction as essential elements of the California workforce

development strategy, as well as a potential solution to decrease disparities in educational and

employment attainment for underserved groups. As such, considerable momentum is building for

regional coordination and collaboration around effective CTE strategies and solutions – a number of

collaborative efforts in the Southwest Bay Area region are showing promising results.

California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT) grants that provide support for K-14 pathways tailored to specific

industry needs and consortia include workforce development, employer and professional associations,

and workforce intermediary organizations as key players. A commonly cited example of a successful CCPT




collaboration is the West Valley Water Pathway. Another example of a key regional coordination initiative,

the Bay Area Community College Consortium (BACCC), provides a critical venue for regional coordination

and collaboration – the BACCC’s Marketplace initiative provides a forum for regional CTE education and

industry partners to convene and share their workforce needs and potential education opportunities to

meet those needs. The BACCC provides much needed support in measuring regional CTE program impact

by supporting regional education partners in implementing a CTE Employment Outcomes Survey which

can inform future regional priorities and directions for CTE programs. Other more localized regional

initiatives such as the Santa Cruz College Commitment (S4C) have been successful in beginning to

coordinate career and education pathways at the county level.

While there is considerable support through grant-funded initiatives across the Southwest Bay Area

region, many CTE stakeholders expressed that these varied efforts are not coordinated. Disparate regional

efforts may prove a significant barrier to meaningful regional coordination, with many entities taking leads

on different aspects of the system without a clearly designated backbone entity or organization to ground

the efforts. CTE stakeholders expressed that despite progress made at the regional level, many programs,

districts, or other partners continue to operate in siloes. Many education and workforce investment

partners reported difficulties with making meaningful connections with each other or tapping into other

efforts that may be underway.

Stakeholders also communicated that throughout the region there is limited knowledge about the

breadth of current CTE program offerings and initiatives, particularly at the secondary level, and other

workforce programs and systems operating in the region.

CTE stakeholders involved in a number of regional collaborative efforts expressed a concern that without

an overarching coordinating framework, current efforts towards regionalization will not adequately

mitigate competition between stakeholders for industry partnerships. These CTE stakeholders noted that

the each education partner must be able to understand how collaboration will enhance and advance

individual program interests as well as collective goals and objectives.

The continued implementation of grant and other state-funded efforts – such as CCPT, AB86 for adult

education pathways, and others – provides the means for industry sector-specific and regional

organization. Other opportunities for regional coordination include the California Workforce Investment

Board’s (CWIB) Project SlingShot, a collaborative effort involvement workforce investment boards.

Moreover, the current California state budget includes funding for a new competitive grant, the Career

Technical Education Incentive Grant Program. Educational entities who partner to provide regional CTE

programs are prioritized for funding. Such funding streams create incentives for educators and business

and community leaders to collaborate with each other.

The numerous funding streams aimed at strengthening CTE programming present opportunities to

combine or coordinate the various regional collaborative efforts by designating existing regional




structures or organizations to provide backbone support to various partners. The regional Southwest Bay

Area SB 1070 consortia provides a natural venue for development of strategies and infrastructure to

support the coordination of industry outreach and participation on a regional level. Many CTE

stakeholders interviewed expressed that the SWPC SB 1070 consortia may be the appropriate venue to

explore regional strategies to combine efforts. Similar CTE consortia in other California locations have

contracted with intermediaries to provide backbone support for consortium activities and are often

responsible for ensuring stability through fundraising, building partners’ capacity, and providing

operational support to bridge the work of multiple organizations or initiatives.

The primary threats to effective regional coordination of CTE-industry engagement efforts are related to

instability of funding sources, conflicting requirements of disparate funding sources, and the inflexibility

of some CTE program governance. Because most current CTE coordination efforts are fueled by grant

funding streams, many CTE stakeholders expressed concern that the usual timeframe of grant funding is

often not long enough to build the infrastructure needed for a coordinated system that is both effective

and sustainable should state-level funding priorities shift. Also, the usual grant funding timeframe is

generally not enough time for programs to be able to demonstrate positive student achievement

outcomes, which is often a necessary requirement of grant funding efforts. Additionally, with many of

the new CTE initiatives, such as the CCPT, funded through competitive grant mechanisms, the majority of

California CTE systems do not benefit from these new funds. The lack of categorical funding support from

the State to support CTE programs ensures that CTE programs must constantly search for new funding

sources to support their efforts.

Due to the disparate nature of funding sources for the various regional CTE initiatives, allocating sufficient

funding for planning and coordination across the entities involved in the partnerships, as well as

evaluating their progress, may prove particularly challenging. Consortia are generally leveraging funding

from a number of sources to support their efforts; with each funding source having its own requirements

and restrictions, the consortia funding strategy creates a challenge in figuring out which sources of funds

can be used for the various activities that the partnerships want to support.




Recommendations and Strategies

Considering the key facilitators, barriers, opportunities, and challenges to meaningful industry

involvement in the region, the SWPC SB 1070 Intersegmental Industry Engagement Workgroup has

identified five overarching recommendations for the Southwest Bay Area region to consider in its future

SB 1070 and CTE education-industry engagement efforts:

Coordinate regional outreach and engagement strategies

Establish practices that enhance industry participation

Develop mechanisms to increase CTE responsiveness to industry needs

Understand and leverage existing assets and resources

Enhance stakeholder understanding of CTE benefits

Each recommendation is described in further detail below. Additionally, the specific strategies that the

workgroup suggests for each consideration are listed with each set of recommendations. The

recommendations and strategies are designed to maximize existing regional resources, support and

bolster current successful practices, and explore and leverage potential external opportunities.

Coordinate Regional Outreach and Engagement Strategies

In their mutual roles of strengthening career pathways for students, both Deputy Sector Navigators and

Sector Navigators emphasized the significance of creating a region-based approach to the outreach and

engagement for CTE pathways. CTE stakeholders believed that the regional coordination of CTE pathways

would clearly define partnerships within the Southwest Bay Area region, minimize duplicative industry

outreach efforts, and streamline CTE programming offerings.

As CTE stakeholders explored the advantages of taking a regional focus to CTE pathways’ outreach and

engagement, they also discussed systemic barriers in place within the Southwest Bay Area region. For

example, CTE stakeholders often described the current state of CTE pathways as disjointed, due in part to

schools and their CTE programs functioning separately from each other in silos.

Education partners also reported that their relationships

with industry partners are often facilitated by individual

staff member’s personal connections, thus making those

relationships difficult to nurture and sustain when those

staff members leave. Furthermore, because industry

engagement efforts are not consolidated across the

region, many education partners expressed experiencing

competition to obtain the limited industry connections.

Additionally, CTE stakeholders acknowledged that there

is no current overarching organizational infrastructure

that documents CTE resources – such as CTE courses or

current industry partners – which may be a contributing

factor to many duplicative efforts. Deputy Sector

“We’ve talked about having a

regional advisory board to make it

efficient for employers.. CTE

partners and adult schools are

duplicating what the high school is

doing... it’s a real old fashioned

individualized system...”

- High School CTE Staff Member




Navigators suggested that offering regional CTE programming that includes industry involvement will

serve to ensure that CTE courses are relevant and decrease the amount of times industry partners are

individually approached by teachers, high schools, and community colleges.

In addition to offering regional programming, Sector Navigators believed that creating regional industry

advisory boards could bolster the types of industry partner involved in shaping CTE programming. They

explained that industry advisory board members are currently mostly comprised of middle-management

officials who might have limited influence and knowledge of their respective organizations’ future

workforce needs. However, if education partners sought to create regional advisory boards, they could

potentially attract industry leadership officials that ultimately have more insights into and impact on

supporting CTE pathways that lead to necessary industry workforce slots.

The SB 1070 Industry Partnerships Workgroup recommends the following strategies for coordinating

outreach and engagement strategies of CTE pathways on a regional level.




Table 3. Recommendations & Strategies for Coordinating Regional Outreach and Engagement

Strategies

Recommendations Actionable Strategies

Allocate funds for dedicated staff throughout

the region. CTE-designated staff positions

bolster the level of coordination between

schools and industry partners.

Create positions for CTE workforce coordinators

at each community colleges and K-12 in order to

ensure opportunities for collaboration amongst

the coordinators.

Enlist Technical Assistance providers to support

the development of regional data sharing

agreements and MOUs amongst education

partners.

Join the Chamber of Commerce and other

program associates to strengthen advisory

boards.

Establish sector specific regional advisory boards

to strengthen the impact of employers

Appoint intermediary conveners to coordinate

outreach and engagement efforts and minimize

points of contact for industry partners.

Develop an online regional database

infrastructure to: 1) house listings of industry

partnerships and CTE programs, and; 2) create a

platform for industry partners to communicate

their needs and then for education partners to

respond with their progress in training CTE

students to meet those industry needs.

Coordinate educational institutions’

participation in regional professional

associations. Regional professional associations

will help keep education partners updated on

new trends and developments in their

respective sectors as well as support outreach

and engagement to industry.

Develop a user-friendly web-based platform to

match industry and education partners.

Constructing online databases will serve to

decrease duplicative course and industry partner

efforts as well as capture region-wide CTE

pathways.




Establish Practices that Enhance Industry Participation

One of the foundations of ensuring that CTE pathways are successful is developing a robust relationship

between industry and education partners. A common theme that emerged across this project’s research

interviews was the importance of establishing meaningful industry participation.

Business-education partnerships are strategic relationships between industry and education partners.

Essentially, these partnerships serve to: 1) inform education partners on how to stay current in the

constantly evolving workforce; and 2) provide industry partners with opportunities to strengthen and

inform their future workforce pipelines. Because CTE pathways advancement is largely informed by

industry partners, one of current main areas of exploration is how to ensure effective participation.

During key informant interviews, both industry partners and education partners shared their experiences

of barriers to securing fruitful business education partnerships. Industry and education partners shared

that industry often lacks the capacity or infrastructure for engaging with education partners. Industry

partners shared that because they have a limited amount of time, education partners should utilize their

time efficiently. Similarly, most education partners reported not having dedicated staff to act as employee

liaisons that can foster and nurture industry relationships. Because of the time constraints experienced

by both entities, industry partners and education partners mentioned that they are often waiting for the

other entity to initiate these relationships.

While education partners are required to have an industry advisory board, the effectiveness and industry

representation of each board varies. Leadership from community colleges said it was challenging having

employees that are seriously engaged, and that many partners merely lend moral support. Similarly,

industry partners expressed not feeling as though education valued or integrated their input. Additionally,

industry advisory boards meet infrequently which limits the depth and impact of industry participation.

Many CTE stakeholders viewed advisory boards as area of development for strengthening industry’s

participation.

Intermediaries who work closely with industry partners

suggested that education partners should take a

proactive stance to engaging industry representatives.

They explained that industry is often approached only

for money, which makes them more likely to feel less

invested or engage with an actual education partner.

Instead, intermediaries advised that education partners

should approach industry by offering a beneficial

partnership, clearly outlining goals and expectations,

and reporting back successes that underscore the

industry partners’ return on investment.

The SWPC SB 1070 Industry Partnerships Workgroup

recommends the following strategies for establishing

meaningful industry participation.

“Advisory council calls in industry,

to find out what industry is looking

for in terms of curriculum…there

were several of us from the

computer industry, but it seemed

like the staff had already made up

their minds. They already knew

what they wanted to teach.”

- Industry Partner




Table 4. Recommendations & Strategies for Establishing Meaningful Industry Participation


Develop regional industry partnership plan

with clear goals, objectives, and benchmarks.

Clearly communicating expectations and

providing industry partners with actionable

requests serves to initiate their levels of

investment and responsibility.

Restructure industry advisory board meetings to

meet board members’ specific needs, specifically

regarding the frequency of meetings and their

agenda items.

Create actionable advisory board meetings where

industry partners are assigned tasks and held

accountable for reporting back on their progress.

Develop monthly check-in points with industry

partners to continually engage their feedback on

CTE pathway programming.

Track industry partnership success and provide

brief annual updates relaying the results of the

partnership to industry partners.

In between education-industry partnership

meetings, send short feedback surveys for

industry partners to share their level of

satisfaction with the partnership and identify

potential points for improvement moving

forward.

Provide clear opportunities for participation

along the continuum to build relationships over

time. Deliberately planned industry

engagements can solidify relationships and

establish trust.

Effectively utilize advisory bodies through

strategic regional alignment by industry sector

or CTE program. Creating regional alignment of

advisory boards supports education partners’

abilities to respond to industry needs and

provides a mechanism for soliciting CTE

programming feedback and approval.




Develop Mechanisms to Increase CTE Responsiveness to Industry Needs

From biotechnology to fashion design pathways, CTE programs cover an exhaustive amount of industries,

each with their own unique needs from their education partners. As fast-paced industries continue to

evolve, the need for CTE pathways to be responsive to industry needs is all the more prevalent.

Being responsive to industry needs is important in maintaining industry relationships as well as providing

relevant programming for students. This means curriculum must be continuously updated to reflect the

needs of emerging sectors. Community College Deans pointed to the long lag times in the Chancellor’s

Office for updating CTE curriculum, causing some courses within programs like Information and

Communication Technologies (ICT) to quickly become

outdated and irrelevant to industry partners.

During key informant interviews, an overwhelming

amount of industry partners commented on the need for

CTE programming to incorporate “soft skills” and career

readiness training components. One industry partner

explained that CTE students often enter the workforce

with the “book knowledge,” but lack communication

and customer service skills. For example, some industry

partners cited examples of students texting on their

phones during their job interviews or showing-up to

work in improper dress attire.

Both industry partners and education partners

highlighted the importance of appropriate expectation-

setting throughout a partnership relationship. For example, one Community College Dean was

approached by a technology company who originally wanted to initiate a partnership to support the

development of computer coding skills amongst CTE students, but ultimately decided against partnering

because the current students in the CTE pathways were better suited for more administrative roles. On

the flip side, another industry partner recounted a prior successful relationship with a community college

developed because the community college had approached them with solutions to their workforce needs,

rather than inappropriately assuming that their current students would meet the industry partner’s needs.

The SWPC SB 1070 Industry Partnerships Workgroup recommends the following strategies for increasing

CTE responsiveness to industry needs.

“A lot of it has to do with soft skills,

and that it’s not specifically being

taught in our courses…We are too

focused on teaching them how to

build a computer, but we’re not

giving them the skills to get and

stay employed. Industry is begging

for it.”

- Community College CTE

Leadership Official




Table 5. Recommendations & Strategies for Increasing CTE Responsiveness to Industry Needs


Provide soft skills and career readiness training

throughout CTE programs. Incorporating soft

skills training into CTE programs serves to

support students in sustaining their careers and

advancing in their industries.

Provide students with work-based knowledge of

the CTE curriculum necessary to support their

career readiness and soft skills development.

Ask industry partners to project upcoming

positions and ideal candidates needed at their

companies, and then collaborate on how to

prepare students to meet those needs.

Establish experimental classes or pilots as

curriculum that can be immediately taught to

students without continual approvals upon each

revision.

Develop regional portable program packages that

can incorporated by more than one college in

order to reduce the per-institution

degree/certificate approval processes.

Bring in industry representatives to co-teach CTE

curriculum to students and provide industry

insight on CTE pathway development.

Utilize labor market forecasts trends to inform CTE

pathway development.

Conduct needs assessments with industry

partners in order to determine the educational

needs that education partners can address

through CTE programming.

Create MOUs with industry partners that support

industry representatives reviewing and providing

updated curricula that is tailored for specific

industry areas or industry-valued certifications.

Help education partners understand short-term

and long-term regional labor needs.

Collaboration between education and industry

partners over labor needs serves to effectively

support the future workforce pipeline as well as

simultaneously address immediate needs.

Build understanding about the industry

partners interested in hiring CTE students

throughout key regional industry sectors.

Appropriately matching industry positions with

student skills maintains the appropriate

expectations by industry partners and sets

realistic goals for education partners.

Identify certifications and credentials that are

industry-valued and then develop an inventory

of existing course offerings essential to those

pathways. Investing in industry-valued

certifications and credentials attracts both

industry partners with students as well as

strengthens CTE programs and student

marketability.




Understand and Leverage Existing Assets and Resources

In recent years, CTE pathways funding has experienced severe cuts at the statewide level. This has

impacted education partners’ abilities to maintain all of their staff and programming. Moreover, the

funding diverted from ROPs has also impacted their abilities to support students in their CTE pathways.

Understanding and leveraging existing assets and resources is critical to sustaining the future CTE

pathways. Some CTE stakeholders viewed the Career Pathways Trust (CPT) as the solution to State-level

cuts. For example, CTE stakeholders described the mutual benefits of grant-funded efforts to provide

collaboration around CTE pathways, programming, and industry engagement. Additionally, grant funding

provides support for systems coordination and creating new CTE pathways for students. However, many

grant funded initiatives, like the Career Pathways Trust, do not reach the majority of CTE programs

throughout the state. CTE stakeholders with access to grant funding also experience a predicament –

while collaboration through grant efforts formalizes partnerships, when grants resources evaporate so do

particular grant-reliant pathways. Moreover, the disparate requirements for CTE funding resources are

barriers to coordinating regional funding streams. CTE stakeholders often cited the importance of

maneuvering the “red tape” in order for CTE partners to share their resources with each other.

CTE program leadership also described their common barriers to attracting industry representatives to

teach CTE courses. In particular, challenges often arise from the fact that CTE teachers need to attain

teaching certifications as well as the generally low salaries that they can afford to pay CTE teachers – both

of these challenges make it less likely that individuals

who wish to become a CTE teacher will do so.

Moreover, interviews with some CTE community

college and high school program staff members

revealed that they are not utilizing DSNs and are

generally unaware of DSNs’ role in the region’s CTE

pathways. Many stakeholders had heard of DSNs, but

were often confused about how they could utilize their

expertise and resources.

The SB 1070 Industry Partnerships Workgroup

recommends the following strategies for understanding

and leveraging existing CTE assets and resources in the region.

“The biggest need is that CTE is not

properly funded at the state…CTE

programs are more expensive than

other programs, and not funded at a

higher level.”

- Community College CTE

Leadership Official




Table 6. Recommendations & Strategies for Understanding and Leveraging Existing Assets and

Resources


Conduct asset mapping and inventorying of

regional CTE programs, partners, and

resources. Exploring the existing resources can

inform plans for specific aspects of CTE

programming to focus on in future investments.

Utilize district funding from the Local Control

Funding Formula (LCFF) to invest in formalized

partnerships with ROPs.

Fund CTE staff positions that are responsible for

grant-writing and sustainability efforts.

Create a social media marketing campaign

explaining the role of DSNs to CTE teachers and

counselors.

Support opportunities for high school and

community college CTE personnel to network

with DSNs.

Create MOUs with CBOs and WIBs to formalize

those partnerships with education partners, thus

allowing them to leverage those connections and

resources amongst their CTE pathways.

Coordinate formalized partnerships with local

city and county governments, CBOs, WIBs, and

other supportive organizations. Diversity in

partnerships can translate to diversity of

resources for CTE programs and curriculums,

which ultimately contributes to the

sustainability of CTE pathways.




Enhance Stakeholder Understanding of CTE Benefits

Throughout interviews conducted with CTE

stakeholders, a consistent theme emerged regarding

the importance of educating industry partners, parents,

teachers, and students about the overall benefits of

engaging in CTE pathways. CTE programming offers

diverse stakeholders with a variety of advantages. For

example, CTE programming provides: 1) industry

partners with a targeted workforce pipeline; 2)

education partners with the ability to align curriculum

and provide professional development opportunities;

and 3) students with real world training and career

skills. But, while the benefits for stakeholder

involvement in CTE programming are vast, interviews

with CTE stakeholders revealed that awareness of CTE

programming is not as apparent.

During key informant interviews, CTE program coordinators at both high school and community colleges

highlighted their robust array of CTE course offerings, but also articulated that CTE programs are not as

valued or prioritized as four-year degrees. Many CTE stakeholders believed that this was primarily due to

the general public’s misconceptions about CTE programming. For example, CTE programming has

acquired a negative connotation where students participating in CTE pathways are somehow viewed as

less educated or have less lofty career aspirations.

Furthermore, CTE program coordinators from both high schools and community colleges acknowledged

that counselors at both levels place heavy emphasis on promoting their students to enter four-year

postsecondary educational institutions. Counselors often advise their students to utilize community

colleges solely for GED requirements before transferring onto four-year institutions. For example, one

industry partner who heavily recruits students from CTE programs shared his/her observation that schools

are not communicating to their students the types of job opportunities, benefits, and salaries that are

available to those engaged in CTE pathways.

Providing education around the advantages of CTE programming was described as crucially important in

combatting the stigma that CTE programs are “less desirable” options by students, parents, counselors,

and teachers.

The SB 1070 Industry Partnerships Workgroup recommends the following strategies for enhancing the

regional understanding about the value and benefits of CTE programming.

“There is a stigma among students

and parents about ROP classes. Now

the pendulum is starting to swing in

a direction that recognizes that

ROP and CTE programming is

putting kids on that career pathway

to these growing sectors like

engineering.”

- CTE Program Coordinator




Table 7. Recommendations & Strategies for Enhancing Stakeholder Understanding of CTE Benefits


Provide high school and community college

counselors with training on regional CTE course

offerings, career education, and career

pathways. These trainings will help to raise

awareness and appreciation of: 1) CTE

programming, 2) the students it best serves, 3)

where specific CTE pathways are located, 4)

possibilities of industry engagement while in

school, and 5) the potential career possibilities

afterward.

Co-host CTE programming open houses with

industry partners to inform parents, counselors,

and students about available programming,

internship opportunities, and how to register for

CTE classes.

Encourage high school and community college

counselors to provide career assessments and

pathway navigation for students.

Utilize former CTE students who are now working

in industry to recruit and market CTE

programming at high schools and community

colleges.

Increase proactive marketing of CTE to

students. Ensuring students are aware of

potential career pathways will bolster CTE

programming, and provide more opportunities

for students.

Encourage community colleges to provide

summer bridge programs for high school students

to gain exposure to CTE programming.

Collaborate with CTE advisory boards to create a

central database that includes listings of industry

partners who will act as guest speakers,

coordinate tours and job shadowing

opportunities for CTE students.

Establish cohesive regional messaging around

the benefits of CTE. Creating a unified message

around CTE pathways will help to dispel the

stigma of CTE programming.

Create a regional CTE marketing campaign aimed

at challenging the negative stigma associated

with CTE programming, including providing

targeted outreach for parents and counselors on

career education.

Organize learning communities with regional

partners to support advocacy of CTE efforts at the

state level.




Conclusion

As the regional landscape of industry and workforce needs continues to evolve, CTE programs must

employ innovative strategies to ensure their continued relevance and ability to adequately prepare

students to successfully enter the workforce. The provision of career technical education at the secondary

and post-secondary level is a key element of an overarching workforce and economic development

strategy. CTE education provides solutions to workforce needs, offers essential opportunities for students,

and increases the economic mobility of the regional workforce.

Industry education partnerships play an integral role in in shaping CTE curricula development at high

schools, ROC/Ps, and community colleges, ensuring that CTE programs remain in touch with the needs of

local business and industry. The continued State and federal prioritization of CTE and the creation of viable

career pathways presents an important opportunity to increase the visibility of CTE programs and CTE-

certified students as viable and essential drivers of economic growth and regional prosperity. The

recommendations and strategies outlined in this report will support the creation and implementation of

a Southwest Bay Area’s regional strategy to engage and ensure the continued meaningful participation of

essential industry partners as well as take full advantage of practices in the region that are currently

working well as opportunities for continued growth.




Appendix – High School District CTE Program Inventories

Information Communication Technologies (ICT)/Digital Media

The ICT/Digital Media landscape is robust in the Southwest Bay Area region, with over 35 school districts in each of the

region’s six counties offering at least one ICT/Digital Media CTE course. The majority of course offerings in this industry

sector are provided through district funds (78%), while less than a quarter (22%) are ROC/P funded. Examples of CTE-

certified courses in the ICT/Digital Media industry cluster include: Business and Electronic Communications, Introduction

to Graphic Arts, Network Security, and Advanced Graphic Communications.

Regional Concentration of ICT/Digital Media Courses and Enrollment ICT/Digital Media Enrollment Concentration

Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)

ICT/Digital Media courses are widely available in the Southwest Bay Area region, though are primarily concentrated in the San Jose

and Mountain View regions, with smaller clusters of students in Santa Cruz and Daly City. The top five districts in terms of CTE course

offerings and student enrollment account for over 50% of the region’s total enrollment in ICT/Digital Media CTE-designated courses.

All data reflects 2013-2014 school year enrollement (Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

ICT/Digital Media Pathways and Partnerships Partnership Academies Regional Collaboratives Key Industry Partners

California Partnership Academies (CPAs) in the

region range from Internet Engineering and

Mobile Ad designing and Coding, to Bussiness

Computing and Information Processing. The

following districts have CPA-certified

pathways:

A number of high school districts are

involved in California Career Pathways

Trust (CCPT) initiatives with Community

College and industry partners.

ICT/Digital Media CCPT initiatives in the

region include:

Silicon Valley engineering tech pathways (SVETP): MetroED and its high school district partners

ICT pathway consortium: SFUSD

Industry partners in the ICT/Digital

Media sector at the high school level

include a wide range of organizations:

Large, locally-based corporations (Cisco, Apple, Barracuda Networks)

Small- and mid-sized businesses (Cruzio)

Industry/professional organizations (Silcon Valley Leadership Group)

Workforce intermediaries (Growth Sector, Transmosis)

MetroED

Milpitas USD

Morgan Hill USD

San Francisco USD

San Jose USD

Sequoia USD

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

San Jose Unified Campbell Union Mountain View-Los Altos Union

East Side Union San Benito

Total En

rollm

ent (lin

e)

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ou

rses

(b

ars)

# of District Funded Courses # of ROC/P Funded Courses Enrollment




Agriculture, Water, & Environmental Technologies

Agriculture, Water, and Environmental Resources (AWE) is an emerging in the Southwest Bay Area. Nearly 15 high school

districts providing AWE CTE-certified courses and emerging collaborative partnerships involving high school partners are

showing promising results. Courses are provided through both district (51%) and ROC/P (49%) funds. There are a wide

variety of courses aligned with the AWE industry sector, including: Plant and Soil Science, Agricultural Mechanics, and

Greenhouse and Nursery Management.

Regional Concentration of AWE Courses and Enrollment AWE Enrollment Concentration


At least some AWE courses are offered in nearly all of the regions’ counties. Course availability and student enrollment are primarily

clustered in the southern part of the region, with over 70% of enrollment and 65% of course offerings concentrated in Monterey

County. All data reflects 2013-2014 school year enrollement (Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

AWE Pathways and Partnerships Partnership Academies Regional Collaboratives Key Industry Partners

Three High School Districts have California

Partnership Academies (CPAs) certified AWE

pathways programs:

Salinas Union High

(International Agri-Business)

Pajaro Valley Unified School District

(Environment Science/Natural

Resouces Business, Agriculture, and

Technology)

Morgan Hill Unified School District

(Agricultural Business)

The region is host to emerging

collaborative structures in the

Agricutlure, Water, and Natural

Resources sector involving high school

districts, including:

West Valley-Mission CCPT

(Waste Water Treatment & Water

Distribution)

Water Career Pathways

Consortium

Industry partners in the Agriculture,

Water, and Natural Resource sector at

the high school level include a wide

range of organizations:

Locally-based agri-business (Driscoll’s, Del Monte)

Small local businesses (nurseries, organic farms)

Regional water districts (Santa Clara Valley Water District, San Jose Water System)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

South MontereyCounty

Salinas Union Morgan Hill San Benito Soledad Unified

Total Stu

den

t Enro

llmen

t (line)

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ou

rses

(b

ars)





Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation

Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation (HTR) CTE-certified courses are robust in the Southwest Bay Area region, with nearly

30 school districts in each of the region’s six counties offering at least one HTR CTE course. The majority of course

offerings in this industry sector are provided through district funds (79%), while less than a quarter (21%) are ROC/P

funded. CTE-certified courses in the Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation industry cluster include: Food and Hospitality

Services, Food and Beverage Preparation, and Hotel and Lodging Management.

Regional Concentration of HTR Courses and Enrollment

Hospitality Enrollment Concentration


Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation courses are widely distributed throughout the Southwest Bay Area region, with the majority of

primary concentration of courses and students in San Jose with smaller clusters of students in Santa Cruz and Daly City. The top five

districts in terms of CTE course offerings and student enrollment account for over 50% of the region’s total enrollment in HTR CTE-

designated courses. All data reflects 2013-2014 school year enrollement (Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

HTR Pathways and Partnerships Partnership Academies Key Industry Partners

Three High School Districts have California Partnership

Academies (CPAs) certified HTR pathways programs.

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District

(Sports Profession and Recreation Careers)

East Side Union High School

(Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality)

Milpitas Unified School District

(Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism)

Industry partners in the HTR sector at the high school level


Local event management/concession services (Levi’s Stadium)

National Hostel and Hospitality Chains (Hilton, Marriott) Retail food and beverage franchises (Starbucks, McDonalds,

Jamba Juice)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Campbell Union San Mateo Union Cupertino Union East Side Union Jefferson Union

Total Stu

detn

t Co

urse En

rollm

ent (lin

e)

Nu

ber

of

Co

urs

es (

bar

s)





Health Science and Medical Technology/Biotech

There are a robust array of high school Health Science and Medical Technology/Biotech (HSMT/Biotech) course offerings

in the Southwest Bay Area region, with over 150 courses enrolling nearly 3,000 students across 25 school districts in each

of the region’s six counties. Courses aligned with these sectors are provided through both district (51%) and ROC/P (49%)

funding. CTE-certified courses in the HSMT/Biotech industry clusters include courses designed to prepare students for

healthcare professions and biotechnology careers, including: Nursing Service, Personal and Community Health, and

Introduction to Biotechnology.

Regional Concentration of HSMT/Biotech Courses and Enrollment HSMT/Biotech Enrollment Concentration


HSMT/Biotech courses are widely available in the Southwest Bay Area region, though are heavily concentrated in San Mateo

County—school districts (Sequoia Union and San Mateo Union) account for 41% of students enrolled in HSMT/Biotech CTE-certifed

courses and 30% of course offerings—with smaller clusters of students in San Francisco County. All data reflects 2013-2014 school

year enrollement (Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

HSMT/Biotech Pathways and Partnerships Partnership Academies Regional Collaboratives Key Industry Partners

Three High School Districts have California

Partnership Academies (CPAs) certified

HSMT/Biotech pathways programs:

Salinas Union High School

(Health and Human Services, Fitness

and Sports Training)

Sequoia Union High School

(Sequoia Health Careers)


(Health Careers)

A number of high school districts are

involved in regional initiatives with

community colleges and industry

partners. Health and Biotech initiatives in

the region include:

CCPT Biotech Pathway: SFUSD Bay Area Biotechnology Education

Consortium

Industry partners in the Health and

Biotech sector at the high school level


Large health care providers (Kaiser, Sutter, UCSF Medical Center)

Industry/professional organizations (California Nurses Association)

Career Student Technical Associations (Health Occupations Students of America)

Biotech organizations

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Sequoia UnionHigh

San Mateo UnionHigh

San FranciscoUnified

San Benito High MontereyPeninsula Unified

Total Stu

den

t Co

urse En

rollm

ent (lin

e)

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ou

rses

(b

ar)





Small Business

In the Southwest Bay Area region, there are nearly 30 school districts offering courses aligned with the Small Business

industry sector. The majority of course offerings in this industry sector are provided through district funds (78%), while

less than a quarter (22%) are ROC/P funded. CTE-certified courses in the Small Business industry cluster are focused

primarily on accounting and finance, but also include administrative processes, business management, and business

communications.

Regional Concentration of Small Business Courses and Enrollment Small Business Enrollment Concentration


Small Business course offerings are robust and widely available in the Southwest Bay Area region, with significant clusters of student

enrollment in all each of the regions’ counties. Fremont Union High School District in Santa Clara County offers the most CTE-certifed

programming in te Small Business industry sector, providing 10% of the regions’ courses to nearly a quarter of its students. All data

reflects 2013-2014 school year enrollement (Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

Small Business Pathways and Partnerships Partnership Academies

Three High School Districts have California Partnership

Academies (CPAs) Small Business certified pathways

programs:

Morgan Hill Unified School District

(Computer/Business Academy)

San Francisco Unified School District

(Academy of Finance, Fitness and Sports Training)

San Jose Unified School District

(Academy of Finance)


(Business, Agricultre, and Technology)

Key Industry Partners

Industry partners in the Small Business sector at the high school

level include a wide range of organizations:

Local, privately owned small businessness (retail & food services) Student Career Technical Organizations (International

Assocation of Marketing Students-DECA, Future Business Leaders of America)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Fremont UnionHigh

Salinas Union High East Side UnionHigh

Palo Alto Unified Sequoia UnionHigh

Total Stu

den

t Co

urse En

rollm

ent (lin

e)

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ou

rses

(b

ars)

# of District Funded # of District Funded Courses Enrollment




Transportation

Across the Southwest Bay Area region, nearly 20 school districts in each of the region’s six counties offering at least one

CTE-certified course in the Transportation sector. The majority of course offerings in this industry sector are provided

through ROC/P funds (63%), while 37% are district funded. CTE certified courses in the Transportation industry cluster

offered in the region generally relate to automotive mechanics, however also include larger vehicle mechanics and repair

and transportation systems engineering.

Regional Concentration of Transportation Courses and Enrollment Transportation Enrollment Concentration


Transporation courses are available to students in all of the regions’ counties, however large concentrations of student enrollment

can be seen in San Mateo County—particulary in the Daly City and South San Francisco—and Santa Clara County. The top five districts

in terms of CTE course offerings and student enrollment account for over 50% of the region’s total enrollment in Transportation CTE-

designated courses. All data reflects 2013-2014 school year enrollement (Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

Pathways and Partnerships Career Pathways Key Industry Partners

While there are no transportation-focused California

Partnership Academies (CPAs) in ther region, there are a

number of high school districts with clearly defined

transportation career pathways programs, including:

San Francisco Unified School District (Transportation Academy)

East Side Union High School (Vehicle Technology, Transportation Systems)

Industry partners in the transporation industry sector at the high

school level primarily relate to the automotive sales and

manufacturing:

Large automotive manufacutrers (Tesla, Honda) Privately-owned auto dealerships (DGDT)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

East Side UnionHigh

Fremont UnionHigh

Jefferson UnionHigh

MontereyPeninsula Unified

South SanFrancisco Unified

Total Stu

den

t Co

urse En

rollm

ent (lin

e)

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ou

rsee

s (b

ar)

# of District Funded # of District Funded Courses Enrollment




Manufacturing and Engineering

The Southwest Bay Area region is host to a wide range of CTE-certified programming in the Manufacturing and

Engineering (M/E) industry sectors, with nearly 30 school districts in each of the region’s six counties offering at least

one course. The majority of course offerings in this industry sector are provided through district funds (74%), while less

than a quarter (26%) are ROC/P funded. Examples of CTE certified courses in the Engineering and Manufacturing sectors

include: Product Development, Welding Technologies, Principles of Design, and Manufacturing Technology.

Regional Concentration of M/E Courses and Enrollment M/E Enrollment Concentration


Manufacturing and Engineering courses are widely available in the Southwest Bay Area region, with significant clusters of student

enrollment in each of the regions’ counties. Across all counties, there are over 207 CTE-certified courses offered, and over 4,000

students were enrolled in engineering and manufacturing courses in 2013-2014. All data reflects 2013-2014 school year enrollement

(Source: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/filesassign.asp).

M/E Pathways and Partnerships Partnership Academies Regional Collaboratives Key Industry Partners

The Southwest Bay Area hosts a number of

California Partnership Academies (CPAs)

aligned to the Manufacturing and Engineering

sectors. Programs including manufacturing,

green engineering, and electronic arts. CPA-

certified M/E programs are offered at the

following districts:

High school districts are involved in a

number of collaborative efforts

realting to Manufacturing and

Engineering, including:

CCPT Manufacturing and Product Development Pathway: Campbell Union High School District

Industry partners in the M/E sector at

the high school level include a wide

range of organizations:

Large, locally-based corporations (Tesla, Chevron)

Envionrmentally-focused companies (SolarCity)

East Side Union Santa Cruz Salinas Union

Sequoia Union Milpitas USD Pajaro Valley USD

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

East Side UnionHigh

Campbell UnionHigh

Salinas Union High San Mateo UnionHigh

Sequoia UnionHigh

Total Stu

den

t Co

urse En

rollm

ent (lin

e)

Nu

mb

er o

f C

ou

rses

(b

ars)


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