Workforce Development and Education Task Force Update
The Workforce Development and Education Task Force met on Thursday, March 7 for two timely presentations.
Sean Casey, the Executive Director of First 5 Contra Costa explained the importance of early childhood education (ECE) and its relevance in shaping tomorrows workforce. In Contra Costa County, one in five children are not ready for school upon entering Kindergarten. Research has shown that ECE can increase school readiness and that high-quality birth-to-five programs for disadvantaged children can deliver a 13% per year return on investment due to better outcomes in education, health, social behaviors and employment. Early childhood education is an area of concern for Governor Newsom and he has proposed large increases to ECE funding in his proposed budget. Mr. Casey outlined these budget proposals, which include doubling the current state preschool capacity. The presentation materials can be found on the Workforce Development & Education Task Force’s page on the EBLC website here.
The Task Force also heard a presentation from Karen Zamarripa on behalf of California’s first online community college. This is the first-ever statewide online community college district and is intended to provide an affordable option that includes flexible scheduling, content that recognizes time constraints, and self-paced management. The community college will offer three programs at the start, which were designed in partnership with key industry leaders and employers. The inaugural programs pathways are medical coding, information technology support and a first line supervision program (meant to serve those in multiple industries interested in moving toward a supervisory role).
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