Neil Hanshaw for EdSource

Neil Hanshaw for EdSource

Career education is projected to receive a boost under Gov. Jerry Dark-brown's proposed budget, part of a larger push button for workforce development training in California.

The governor's budget proposal for 2015-16 includes $876 million for career technical education and other task training initiatives at K-12 schools and community colleges – welcome news for programs that saw course offerings cut and enrollments decrease over the past several years.

The governor identifies the programs equally a key part of a larger, $i.2 billion statewide effort aimed at "reinvesting and reshaping California'southward workforce preparation systems." The effort aims to get students into grooming programs that are more closely linked to regional workforce needs and to improve coordinate job training programs at colleges and schools.

The initiative is besides sparked past a need to ameliorate fix students for college and careers, a key goal of education reform efforts and of the Common Core State Standards in math and English language, which have been adopted by California and 42 other states.

"Increasing the resource bachelor and better targeting where they are used will amend the skills of California's workforce and better meet the demands of the growing economy," the governor'south budget summary said. The funding, the summary said, is a "showtime step toward a broader strategy of aligning 49 workforce investment boards, 72 community higher districts, more than 1,000 other local pedagogy agencies, and the employment programs of 58 county homo services agencies."

Linking career technical educational activity in the schools with a larger workforce effort is an of import shift, said Michael Kirst, president of the Land Board of Instruction.

Career technical education "is a long way from being just high schools and community colleges and micro arrangements," Kirst said. "It'due south being refocused as part of this regional approach to create skills and jobs rather than being merely something for local high schools to do for their local high school population. The level of policies is moving upward in terms of a workforce focus, rather than going to schools to solve those problems."

Brown'south package for career pedagogy includes $250 1000000 over each of the next three years to create a Career Technical Didactics Incentive Grant Program to spur partnerships betwixt schoolhouse districts, colleges and business concern. The program is intended to "advance the development of new and expanded high-quality CTE programs," according to the budget proposal.

"It looks like the governor is actually concerned about returning California to the economic power that it one time was, and that starts in the secondary schools," said Randy Page, president of the California Association of Regional Occupational Centers and Programs.

Groups receiving the coin would have to provide a dollar-for-dollar lucifer to qualify, Brownish said, and must evidence their effectiveness across a range of outcomes such as graduation rates, form–completion rates and the number of students receiving industry credentials and certificates.

The state budgeted a total of $500 million over the past two years for a similar grant programme, called the California Career Pathways Trust, which also promotes regional partnerships betwixt Grand-12 districts, community colleges and businesses. Yet, districts are not required to provide a dollar lucifer to qualify for that funding.

Dark-brown also proposed an additional $29 1000000 for apprenticeship programs that provide adults with a steady paycheck as they receive on-the-task training, and $48 million to extend the CTE Pathways Initiative grant program for an additional year. The program, which was scheduled to sunset in 2014-fifteen, supports efforts to meliorate link career programs at schools with those at customs colleges.

The upkeep as well proposes $500 1000000 for adult education programs, which provide English as a second language classes, apprenticeships and career training opportunities, among other programs.

The proposed budget "is a significant signal that [Gov. Brown] cares about economic mobility past focusing on workforce development," said Van Ton-Quinlivan, vice chancellor of workforce and economic development at the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office.

The governor's proposals are in keeping with federal requirements outlined in the reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act jobs training program, Ton-Quinlivan said. Agencies receiving federal money are at present required to accept common measurements and "integrated planning instead of staying in their silos," she said.

"The time has come to focus all these disparate efforts to become these monies to work together" in California, she said.

Tim Rainey, executive manager of the California Workforce Investment Board, said the funding proposal kicks "upward a notch – or maybe a few notches" – existing efforts to align jobs development in the business sector with career training programs in the schools.

"We realized none of these components would really impact employment and jobs solitary," Rainey said.

The additional funding is "a step in the correct direction" for occupational programs in schools, said Randy Folio, president of the California Association of Regional Occupational Centers and Programs.

"It looks like the governor is actually concerned well-nigh returning California to the economic ability that it once was, and that starts in the secondary schools," said Page, managing director of Tri-County ROP, which serves Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties. "We can't satisfy the needs of the employers and business community and keep them in the state if we're not able to provide robust programs."

Still, Folio said he is eager to see details of the proposed grant program and its required "dollar-for-dollar" match. Additional information on the proposal is expected when a trailer bill to the budget proposal is released, possibly equally early equally Fri. Page as well is concerned about the expiration engagement for the funding in 3 years.

"It all looks really good on paper," Page said, "merely really implementing the plan and sitting back and seeing how districts and customs colleges and county offices work together to make this coin constructive will be the test of how effective this is in the long term."

Fred Jones, an advocate for career and technical programs who represents the California Business Education Association, said the proposal brings promising news for career technical educational activity. The dollar-for-dollar match requirement of the grant programme provides an incentive to build quality career programs in the schools. The accountability requirements – asking recipients of the money to evidence their effectiveness past meeting a range of measures – will help ensure that programs meet quality benchmarks, he said.

In 2007-08 – earlier the recession and earlier state chiselled funding was relaxed – Regional Centers and Occupational Programs received a dedicated $486 million budget resource allotment, Jones said. The chiselled "flex" allowed districts to employ money previously earmarked for specific programs – such as regional occupation – for any purpose.

Enrollment in career education programs dropped 12 percent from 2011-12 to 2012-xiii, according to state figures, and the number of courses offered statewide decreased by 11 per centum.

"We need to discuss exactly what the funding amount should be," Jones said, "only what's mattered nigh to me and those of usa who have been advocating for career tech for the terminal several years is high-quality programs."

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst'due south Part commends the governor's upkeep proposal on workforce education as "laudable," merely faulted the proposal for a potential "piecemeal approach."

The program "does nothing to streamline existing, overlapping regional groupings" dedicated to workforce development, according to an LAO analysis of the governor'south upkeep proposal.

The plan could fragment existing workforce efforts "by augmenting certain existing programs while simultaneously creating new programs with similar workforce objectives," the LAO said.

"We are concerned that such a piecemeal arroyo could be counterproductive," the assay said, "and result in boosted redundancies and inefficiencies in the state'southward workforce development system."

"The whole plan is to reduce redundancies, not create new ones," said Rainey, noting the new federal Workforce Innovation act requirements.

To go more reports like this one, click here to sign up for EdSource'southward no-price daily email on latest developments in education.