19D - WORKFORCE PLAN 2017-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Plan coordinated, regional business/industry engagement strategies would pay significant dividends in Orange County as the county develops a "workforce of the future." WEAKNESSES OF WORICFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES The efforts of all stakeholders in Orange County's worlorce development are well intentioned, but the coordination of activities is unevenly applied. The sheer number of federal, state, county and local civic agencies combined with twenty -seven K -12 school districts, four community college districts, the California State University and University of California systems, numerous private post- secondary institutions and many private colleges leads to a volume of business engagement efforts that cannot always be efficiently managed. Business engagement is often fragmented, uncoordinated, and missing a true sense of collaboration for the good of the regional economy. Many college campuses and CBOs conduct their own businesslindustry advisory boards that duplicate efforts of other institutions. As a result, many of these programs are poorly attended and lack the business feedback about labor markets and the skills gap that is crucial for both the business and education communities. Declaration: In order to support continued development and innovative in regional workforce activities, the OC Region will have to engage business stakeholders in a more targeted and efficient manner. Regular conversations with workforce and education stakeholders will lend meaningful input into the development process of industry- relevant curricula that will prepare students for the current and changing job market. Ongoing collaboration will reduce redundancies and inefficiencies to help bridge the skills gap and align regional, educational, and economic interests. Regional GoallObjective: Strategic regional alignment, coordination, and integration of programs, services, and partners, with attention to Individuals with barriers to employment and special populations as applicable, across systems. Strategy: System alignment, service integration, and support towards a sustainable regional infrastructure that are in sync to streamline business engagement practices across systems. State Plan Alignment. Aligning, coordinating, and Integrating programs and services. Integrated service delivery, braiding resources, and coordinating services at the local level to meet client needs. OC REGION'S FOREIGN BORN AND LIMITED ENGLISH POPULATION Orange County has been identified as having a workforce that is at least 15% limited English proficient, and as such the OC Regional Plan includes assessment and strategies to address the needs of and provide services to those who are limited English proficient. The importance of strategies designed to increase English Language proficiency is demonstrated by the fact that 23.2% of Orange County workers 25 and older speak Spanish as a first language, and that 16.3% speak an Asian language as a first language. Increasing the English Language skills of Orange County's current students will help prepare them for both the rest of their academic careers and for the job market, which demands English proficiency for all but the lowest - paying jobs. WAI, ,n Foreign -Born Population ^ 2. Region of Birth, 2014 A� counties such as San Bernardino County County (22.7 %). Almost half of individuals in Orange County speak a language other than English (46 %) and among this population, 45% speak English less than "very well," Increasing the English Language skills of Orange County's current students will help prepare them for both the rest of their academic careers and for the job market, which demands English proficiency for all but the lowest - paying jobs. Orange County exceeds the state average of total enrolled students classified as "English Learners ". 24.9% of Orange County students were classified as English Language Learners in 2016 compared to 22.4% of students statewide; Orange ish Language Learners in the Southern California region, higher than surrounding 3.9 %), Riverside County at (20.7 %), San Diego County (22,1 %), and Los Angeles 19D -27 Page 12