Featured Workforce Initiatives

High Road

High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) and High Road Construction Careers (HRCC) a systemic approach to industry-based workforce development addressing critical issues of equity, job quality, worker voice, and environmental sustainability.

CAAL Skills

An interagency and multi-departmental data-sharing and program evaluation initiative that uses detailed information from federal and state-funded workforce, education, and human services programs to measure participation and associated outcomes for program participants.

Regional CA

Work to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and build the talent needed to increase income mobility and regional prosperity through collaboration among multiple workforce systems and bringing workforce leaders together.

Prison to Employment

Creates opportunities through collaborative partnerships with state workforce programs and the state corrections systems so that formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals can successfully reenter society and the labor force.

Workforce Accelerator Fund

Funds projects that design, develop, and implement programs that accelerate employment and provide access to workforce services and employment opportunities for targeted groups and disadvantaged populations.

HIRE

Increases employment opportunities and job mobility for formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals through partnerships with reentry-focused organizations that provide training, reskilling and upskilling, and supportive services.

Breaking Barriers

Supplements existing workforce and education programs by providing services to target populations who are often not eligible for other state and federal programs in an effort to address disparities in the labor market.

Coming Soon

Initiative Coming Soon

In the Spotlight

Sacramento, CA – California Workforce Development Board’s High Road Training Partnership grantee Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) recently celebrated its first cohort graduation. The program is designed to address critical school nursing shortages and used High Road Framework to create the Sacramento Nurse Residency and Pathway Program. “Over 40% of the school nurse positions were vacant despite a growing need for health services in the schools following the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Hellan Roth Dowden, Teachers for Healthy Kids.  The impacts of the HRTP project are clear: SCUSD vacancies were reduced to 5%, creating an opportunity to support additional health aid positions. Historically, the industry faces low retention rates, a challenge SCUSD expects to improve with their fully trained and credentialed staff.

The SCUSD program uses an apprenticeship and residency model to provide mentorship and financial and social support to current non-credentialed nurses and healthcare workers while earning their one-year nursing credential. “This effort can be a model for other school districts in the state: An apprenticeship workplace-based model for helping meet California’s critical shortages of school nurses, psychologists, counselors, and social workers,” said Lisa Musser, SCUSD Project Manager.

Graduates and program facilitators: (left to right) Kirsten Munk, Eva Hipolito, Melissa Linck, Crystal Roberson, Vida Kem-Gray, Fumi Tamenaha, Tracy Starnes, Raisa Gavrilchik, Michele Penman, Michelle Gonzalez, Christy London, Lisa Musser

Graduates and program facilitators: (left to right) Kirsten Munk, Eva Hipolito, Melissa Linck, Crystal Roberson, Vida Kem-Gray,  Fumi Tamenaha, Tracy Starnes, Raisa Gavrilchik, Michele Penman, Michelle Gonzalez, Christy London, Lisa Musser

Curtis Notsinneh and Myke Griseta

Recent graduate, Vida Kem-Gray, shared that the program gave her a solid foundation and helped her continue her education while gaining skills and confidence through mentorship.  gained skills and confidence because of the mentorship she received through the program. During the graduation ceremony, she shared that the program laid a solid foundation and helped her continue her education, creating a promising future in school nursing. Eva Hipolito, another graduate in the first cohort, was able to find her niche in the nursing profession when she connected with Lisa Musser, the SCUSD Project Manager.

Photo from left to right: Crystal Roberson, Melissa Linck, Eva Hipolito, and Vida Kem-Gray

Retention of school nurses is a nation-wide problem. Statewide, there is one nurse for every 2,410 students, well below the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended staffing of one nurse for every 750 students.  Crystal Roberson was deciding whether to stay or leave like so many before her when she connected to the Sacramento Nurse Residency and Pathway Program. Upon learning of the opportunity High Road funding would provide, she didn’t hesitate to apply. “This program really gave me that chance to be in a role that I love, not give up on school nursing, and be able to thrive,” said Crystal at the graduation ceremony.  

Melissa Linck had already overcome the hurdles of maintaining a family and obtaining her bachelor’s degree when she had to choose whether to continue investing in her dream to be a school nurse. The funding from this High Road Training Partnership program addresses the financial stress many school nurses feel when deciding to stay in the profession. Melissa described this opportunity as “nothing short of a blessing, and I am so fortunate.”

Photo Melissa Linck (second from the left)

During the first cohort graduation, graduate Michele Penman shared how the mentorship component and the “open door policy” with faculty built her confidence, unlike any other training or education experience.

School nurses are often solo providers, a very different environment from a hospital or physician’s office setting. Christy London (on the right) worked as a preceptor for the first cohort and knows what it’s like to be the only medical person serving multiple campuses. At the graduation, Christy described how beneficial it was to connect and collaborate with her mentees, exercise her leadership skills, and revisit the best practices she learned years ago. When asked if she would be a preceptor again, Christy said, “I would do it again a million times over!”

CWDB JOB OPENINGS

People participating in a Cannabis training class

Review our available positions below, and visit the CalCareers webpage to learn more about how to apply for a state job.

New to the State – Review the 3 Steps To A State Job webpage and be sure to complete the exam/assessment and state application before applying for this position.

Are you passionate about ending poverty and inequality? Are you motivated to address the climate crisis and social injustice while working on economic and workforce development? If so, you may be a great fit for one of our open positions at the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

The CWDB is recognized nationally as a progressive and experimental state workforce department, charting a path to a High Road economy and approach to workforce development grounded in the principles of social equity, environmental sustainability, and resilience and quality jobs. Over the past decade, the CWDB’s budget, programs, and staff have grown exponentially using federal and state workforce funding to pilot new sector-based workforce initiatives and develop policy solutions that address the quality and accessibility of jobs in addition to training.

Click Below To View Current CWDB Job Opportunities:

EXECUTIVE TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch

EQUITY CLIMATE & JOBS FIELDS TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION & ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TEAM

Information Technology Specialist The last day to apply for JC-421240 is 3/21/2024. The Information Technology Specialist (ITS) I acts as a Web Developer for the Cross System Analytics and Assessment for Learning and Skills Attainment (CAAL-Skills) Web Portal and other associated web applications, systems, and technologies for the Data Management and Administration (DMA) unit. The ITS leads CAAL-Skills Web Portal development in an Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environment and works closely with business analysts, data analysts, Business Intelligence (BI) developers, researchers, and other technical staff from the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) and partner organizations.  ­

POLICY, RESEARCH AND LEGISLATION TEAM

No jobs openings are currently available in this branch

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION & REGIONAL SUPPORT TEAM

Staff Services Manager I The last day to apply for JC-420128 is 3/16/2024. The Staff Services Manager I (SSM I) directly supervises program staff and assists the Deputy Director in advancing the vision of the Program Implementation & Regional Support Branch and the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB). The SSM I is responsible for the implementation of various initiatives pertaining to providing education and employment support for barriered populations, regional leadership, industry sector work, good quality jobs, equity, income mobility, upward mobility and alignment of services and resources. The SSM I’s areas of focus are implementation and coordination of such initiatives; from administrative and grant program management, to assisting with Communities of Practice planning and execution, assisting with the development for new funds/programs, understanding rules and regulations related to the initiatives, and providing oversight and training in CalJOBS and Salesforce for administrative functions and data capture. Associate Governmental Program Analyst The last day to apply for JC-419781 is 3/18/2024. The Associate Governmental Program Analyst (AGPA) is responsible for information gathering, analysis, and recommendations on workforce development pertaining to the full range of workforce innovation, regional leadership, and system alignment. The AGPA’s areas of focus are innovation and implementation; from grant program management, to organizing and facilitating Communities of Practice, and working closely with other state partners and advocacy groups to inform policy and practice through the lessons and successes of the programs developed.  ­

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