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Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 7, 2015 |
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.
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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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
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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
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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)
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 27
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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 28
Table 4. Recommendations & Strategies for Establishing Meaningful Industry Participation
Recommendations Actionable Strategies
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.
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 29
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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 30
Table 5. Recommendations & Strategies for Increasing CTE Responsiveness to Industry Needs
Recommendations Actionable Strategies
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.
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 31
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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 32
Table 6. Recommendations & Strategies for Understanding and Leveraging Existing Assets and
Resources
Recommendations Actionable Strategies
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.
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 33
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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 34
Table 7. Recommendations & Strategies for Enhancing Stakeholder Understanding of CTE Benefits
Recommendations Actionable Strategies
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.
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 35
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.
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 36
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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 37
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
Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)
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)
# of District Funded Courses # of ROC/P Funded Courses Enrollment
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 38
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
Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)
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
include a wide range of organizations:
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)
# of District Funded Courses # of ROC/P Funded Courses Enrollment
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 39
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
Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)
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)
Pajaro Valley Unified School District
(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
include a wide range of organizations:
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)
# of District Funded Courses # of ROC/P Funded Courses Enrollment
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 40
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
Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)
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)
Pajaro Valley Unified School District
(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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 41
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
Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)
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
SB 1070 Southwest Pathways Consortium
Industry Partnerships Research Project – Final Report
Prepared by RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES October 31, 2015 | 42
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
Top 5 Districts (Course Offerings and Enrollment)
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)
# of District Funded Courses # of ROC/P Funded Courses Enrollment