Get an Education. Get a Job.
Get a Better Education. Get a Better Job.
CAAs were designed to establish pipelines for under-prepared, underemployed young adults to careers and additional higher education opportunities. The CAAs address foundational skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, in the context of particular career pathways of importance to the regional economy. All CAAs build on partnerships between the local community colleges, employers, workforce boards, social service agencies and community based organizations. These partnerships are instrumental in designing and implementing broad-based outreach, providing individual support and case management, and employment links to businesses and labor, including apprenticeships. Each project is designed to serve as a prototype offering instruction in remedial/developmental education and industry driven occupational training. These projects are expected to enroll substantial numbers of targeted young adults (18-30) and will incorporate independent evaluation as part of the design.
- Video Clips on Student Speak
- Central Valley Career Advancement Academies Q & A (FAQs)
- CAA Project Design Model
Academy Overview
A College-Based Enhancement to the Regional Workforce System
In July 2007, the State Center Community College District received an SB70 grant from California Community College Chancellor’s Office to establish the Central Valley Career Advancement Academies (CVCAA) on behalf of three community college districts. Each district is host to at least one college-based Career Advancement Academy (CAA) site. This funding was one of three grant awards made in three economically diverse regions including Northern, Central and Southern California. Each regional CAA project was awarded $1.6M from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Recently the Community College Board of Governor’s approved funding for these three regional CAA programs through June 2010.
The Central Valley Career Advancement Academies were also successful in securing supplemental funding for a new career pathway/pipeline in partnership with Modesto Junior College. This teacher preparation/ public service initiative began in October 2008.
CVCAA is a collaboration of eight college sites representing three college districts. The regional partnership also includes community-based organizations, adult education providers, industry, and workforce and social service providers throughout the Counties of Fresno, Merced and Madera.
topCVCAA Purpose
The purpose of the CVCAA is to fund pilot projects that will establish economic and educational pipelines for under-skilled, under employed youth and young adults between the ages of 18 to 30 years of age. These various CAA demonstration projects provide student participants with an opportunity to expand their basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, workplace soft skills, and participate in career technical training that sequentially leads them through an established career pathway and into high growth/ high wage employment. In order to create a regional program that is responsive to the needs of employers, future and current employees, and well integrated and aligned with social service and workforce development partners, each CAA site has developed delivery models that are uniquely responsive to the specific needs and expectations of their local communities. These unique design characteristics require that CAA projects continuously evaluate, implement systems improvements, and foster regional strategies that lead to the success of participants and improvements in the economic condition of the region.
Fundamentally, the CVCAA is an enhancement to and expansion of the good work already being done by regional partnerships in the Central Valley. The project leverages educational resources to respond to regional workforce needs, and the employer’s needs for entry level and incumbent workers with specific job skills. Meeting the diverse needs of partners, employers, and under skilled participants requires an alignment of public services and a clear understanding of the employer’s need to address skills and technical gaps on the job. The CAA helps to address the skills gap issue by contextualizating newly developed bridge programs and career and technical courses with basic and soft skills, integrating and expanding student support services, as well as by addressing service gaps between community colleges and workforce and social services. In this way, the CVCAA helps to enhance a workforce system making it more responsive in addressing the persistent economic and educational barriers facing many young adults in the Central Valley.
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