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Strengthening Regional Workforce Development Partnerships <br />January 21, 2025 <br />Page 2 <br />4 <br />7 <br />8 <br />3 <br />needs of regional industry sectors across the state's 15 WIOA Regional Planning Units. <br />Additionally, California state law requires coordination between K-12 schools, <br />community colleges, and WIOA systems, and emphasizes the use of sector strategies <br />as the operational framework for the state’s workforce development system. <br />The Orange Workforce Alliance (OWA) consists of three local Workforce Development <br />Boards that serve 34 cities and several large unincorporated areas in Orange County. <br />These boards include the Anaheim Workforce Development Board (serving the City of <br />Anaheim), the Santa Ana Workforce Development Board (serving the City of Santa Ana), <br />and the Orange County Workforce Development Board (serving the remaining 32 cities <br />and unincorporated areas). The OWA works collaboratively with various partners to <br />leverage the region's strengths, address challenges, and expand opportunities for <br />community members and businesses, promoting economic vitality. <br />The State allocates RERP grant funds to support regional planning. OWA will utilize these <br />funds to accelerate and enhance ongoing efforts under the Regional Workforce Plan, <br />focusing on system alignment, partnerships, and regional programs that promote <br />economic growth, equity, shared prosperity, and environmental sustainability. A key <br />objective of the RERP grant is to strengthen the partnership with Orange County <br />community colleges by creating targeted short-term education interventions to improve <br />workforce preparation and participation, particularly for English language learners, <br />immigrants, and first-generation college students. <br />The project prioritizes two key industry sectors: healthcare and information technology. <br />OWA will partner with local community colleges to develop training programs in fields <br />such as Medical Laboratory Technician, Cybersecurity, Supply Chain Management, Web <br />Services, and Introduction to Information Technology. These programs will incorporate <br />strategies to support the target populations, including additional support services, cohort <br />models, and Vocational English as a Second Language training (Exhibit 1). <br />Additionally, the California Workforce Development Board has awarded WIOA <br />Governor’s discretionary funds for Regional Plan Implementation (RPI) 5.0 to support the <br />implementation of local and regional workforce plans in 15 state-defined workforce areas. <br />The purpose of the RPI 5.0 funding is to assist OWA in developing regional leadership, <br />organizing industry leaders, and collaborating with workforce, education, and economic <br />development partners to scale efforts and build the capacity of frontline workforce staff <br />and partners (Exhibit 2). <br />For these agreements, the County Workforce Development Board contracts directly with <br />the State and subsequently sub-contracts with the City to facilitate participation in the <br />regional workforce partnerships. <br />FISCAL IMPACT <br />Approval of the appropriation adjustment will recognize $30,000 in funds from Orange <br />County Grant Revenue Federal Grant-Indirect account (no. 12418002-52001) and <br />$110,000 from State Grant-Indirect account (no. 12418002-52027) and appropriate the