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<br />8 CALIFORNIA'S EDGE <br /> <br />programs, two-year academic and vocational degree <br />programs, industry-provided training, union and other <br />apprenticeships, and so on. Ensure that information <br />about educational opportunities is widely disseminat- <br />ed. Keep fees affordable and maintain a strong, needs- <br />based financial aid system. <br /> <br />Policy Recommendations: <br />1. Maintain broad access to two-year and four-year <br />colleges and universities. Implement policies that <br />improve access and success for low-income and <br />underrepresented students, such as needs-based <br />financial aid and supportive services. <br /> <br />2. Recognize the multiple roles community colleges <br />play in workforce education and training, and <br />ensure they have the base funding to play these <br />roles effectively. At the same time, keep community <br />college fees affordable. <br /> <br />3. Invest in career technical education at both high <br />school and postsecondary levels that is responsive to <br />the needs of the California economy and leads to <br />high wage jobs. <br /> <br />4. Expand access to other pathways to high wage jobs, <br />such as union and other apprenticeships. <br /> <br />5. Develop strategies for students who do not pass, or <br />who are in danger of not passing, the high school <br />exit exam, including contextualized and thematic <br />education in small learning communities that <br />prepare youth for both postsecondary education <br />and careers. <br /> <br />6. Ensure that all Californians understand the opportu- <br />nities available to them by increasing the number of <br />career counselors in high schools, adult schools, and <br />colleges, maintaining effective college outreach <br />programs, and supporting career counseling in <br />One Stop Career Centers and community-based <br />organizations. <br /> <br />19E-11 <br /> <br />III. Provide Working Adults with <br />Opportunities to Move Up the <br />Skill ladder <br /> <br />Problem: <br />Virtually all Californians will require continued <br />education and skills training to enter or stay in <br />well-paid jobs and to meet the skill needs of the state's <br />employers. In fact, adults are entering college and other <br />education and training institutions in record numbers. <br />Nationally, more than 40 percent of students in <br />colleges and universities are over the age of 25. In <br />addition, companies, unions, and the public sector are <br />increasingly investing in workplace-based education <br />and training programs. <br /> <br />Yet California lacks a coherent policy framework <br />to encourage continuing education, and existing <br />programs and policies erect barriers to access and <br />success for working adults. College programs often fail <br />to address the needs of adult learners and financial aid <br />programs include provisions that restrict the access <br />of working and returning students. Programs for <br />dislocated workers and workers with serious barriers to <br />success in the labor market are seriously under-funded; <br />public funding for the training of employed workers is <br />restricted and can be difficult to access. <br /> <br />Solution: <br />Provide Californians lifelong access to skills training and <br />educational opportunities. Support educational institu- <br />tions (colleges, adult schools, Regional Occupational <br />Centers and Programs, and others) to design courses <br />and services that accommodate the needs of working <br />adults and those supporting families. Create a system <br />that allows workers to build skills over time, by access- <br />ing a variety of institutions and programs. Ensure that <br />the system provides opportunities for Californians at <br />many levels of skill and experience. Extend financial <br />aid to working and returning students. Expand training <br />opportunities for employed workers. <br />