Long-Term Support to Strengthen Career Education in the San Diego and Imperial Region

For nearly a decade, WestEd’s Center for Economic Mobility has supported the efforts of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Regional Consortium (SDI RC) to advance career education by building better systems, providing hands-on support, and promoting fairness so more students stay in school, graduate, and get jobs.

The Challenge

The San Diego & Imperial Region has a strong history of schools, job training agencies, business leaders, and community organizations working together. So, when the state made funding available to improve career education programs at community colleges, the region was ready to build better systems to help more students enroll, graduate, and find jobs. The SDI RC immediately partnered with us to expand what they could do. Their first challenges were big ones: creating organizational frameworks and workgroups across the region, mapping work-based learning processes, and finding ways to close gaps that kept some students from succeeding.

How We’re Taking Action

We helped SDI RC build a solid foundation by researching what works best and creating a regionwide plan that supports students through every step—from when they first enroll all the way to getting a job.

Over time, the work has evolved alongside the needs of the region. The Center participates in a range of engagement activities in collaboration with the consortium, including the following:

  • facilitating workgroups and communities of practice focused on career navigation, work-based learning, and K–14 collaboration
  • providing expert consultation and technical assistance on career education topics
  • developing regional strategic plans and supporting colleges in their own planning and implementation plans
  • designing and administering online professional development courses
  • conducting surveys and data analysis to inform improvements
  • producing research and practice briefs, articles, and tools to elevate successful practices at colleges that enhance career education services

These initiatives, backed by continuous data and research, aim to transform the cultural and systemic landscape in the region so that more students succeed. We are contributing to SDI RC’s mission to build an adaptable workforce aligned with regional economic demands while ensuring access and success for all students.

Resources

 

The Center has been a pivotal partner in helping us create an infrastructure that has profoundly shaped how we support workforce development in our region.

Danene Brown Regional Chair, San Diego & Imperial Regional Consortium

What Makes Us Different

Building trust – We understand that strong partnerships require trusting relationships between institutions and organizations.

Breadth of services – Our team has expertise on many different facets of postsecondary education, career development, work-based learning, adult learners, and data analysis, which means that we can provide support as client needs evolve.

Deep engagement – We embed our team into the work of our clients to effectively build local capacity, then help them scale what works.