1. Synching and Swimming
Partnerships that Worked

2. Introductions

3. Workplace Learning Resource Initiative
 Statewide Economic
and Workforce
Development Grant
 Comprised of 12
Community College
Centers
1. Los Rios Community College District. Sacramento, CA
2. Chabot-Las Positas Community College District,
Pleasanton, CA
3. Mission College, Santa Clara, CA
4. Merced College, Merced, CA
5. Kern Community College District, Bakersfield, CA
6. Oxnard College, Oxnard, CA
7. El Camino Community College District,
Hawthorne, CA
8. Long Beach City College, Long Beach CA
9. Rancho Santiago Community College, Santa Ana, CA
10. North Orange Community College District,
Anaheim, CA
11. College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA
12. Cuyamaca Community College, El Cajon, CA

4. What we do
 Provide training programs that support the needs of
business and industry and economic growth
 Continually assess the changing needs of the workforce
 Develop a variety of customized basic skills and
workplace training programs for the Public and Private
sectors

5. Customized Training
 Workplace Basic Skills
 Advanced Workplace Skills
 English as a Second Language (ESL)
 Spanish for Managers
 Communications & Management Skills Training
 Business Fundamentals

6. Contextualized Instruction
 Presenting new subject matter in meaningful, relevant,
and relatable contexts:
 Previous experience
 Real-life
 The workplace

7. Foundation Programs
 The Next Skills Institute: Employment Skills for the Next
Generation
 Generational Diversity: Working with Cross Generational
Teams Workshop
 Cultural Diversity
 Customer Service Academy
 Introduction to Sustainability: The Basics of Green

8. Successful Partnerships
 College of the Desert and Riverside County EDA’s
Workforce Development
 Co-Located Career Center at WpLRC - Provides services,
resources, and training for job seekers and businesses
 ARRA Contract - A $1.2 million contract to develop and
deliver training for WIA eligible clients preparing for in-
demand industries
• New Directions Career Planning Workshop - Includes
assessments on workplace skills, interests, values,
personality, and action planning
• Vocational English (VESL) for Pre-CNA Certification -
Includes vocational language skills practice, plus
practicum in nursing lab on COD campus

9. Successful Partnerships
 Los Rios Community College District WpLRC and
Sacramento Employment and Training Agency
 Green Career Workshops – A $30,000 ARRA Grant was
awarded to the Los Rios CCD WpLRC to develop and deliver
regional Green Career Workshops and train-the-trainer
sessions
 The Next Skills Institute – An innovative and interactive
curriculum which teaches today’s most important business
skills. Developed in collaboration with industry, the
Sacramento Employment and Training Agency and partners
such as the California Employers Association and the North
State Building Industry Association

10. Successful Partnerships
KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career
Readiness Pilot
Chabot-Las Positas CCD
Contra Costa WIB-One Stop Operator Consortia

11. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 Challenge: Business and industry in Contra Costa and
Alameda counties had ongoing need for workers with
basic skills particularly in math and reading
 Partners:
 Contra Costa WIB-One Stop Operator Consortia
 Alameda WIB
 Mt. Diablo Adult Education
 Tri-Valley Educational Collaborative
 Foothill High School
 Dublin High School,
 West Contra Costa Unified School District - Adult Education
 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
 Modesto Jr. College
 Alliance WorkNet

12. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 Solution: Create a method to assess and verify basic skills
of workers
 What we developed: In March 2008, created a pilot
program to assess the long term applicability and
viability of a Career Readiness Certificate (verifying basic
skills) for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties

13. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 How we did it:
 Reached out to all the colleges within our regional service
area and the WIBs to participate in a presentation about
WorkKeys and how the Central Valley was utilizing WorkKeys
 Garnered feedback and enlisted advocates for the
program within the region
 Purchased KeyTrain and Workkeys licenses and testing
materials for the WpLRC and for 3 CC WIB OneStops and 1
CLPCCD site

14. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 How we did it:
 Used a Multi-dimensional approach
• Deployed inside of the OneStops at their assessment
centers
• Trained OneStops and Consortia partner employees on
KeyTrain and WorkKeys
• Recruited cohorts of participants to take KeyTrain and
the CRC Options)
• Ongoing solicitation of businesses to recognize value of
certificate as a recruitment and hiring tool
• Attend and present at meetings with Labor and Industry
leaders

15. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 Results:
 To date 1830 individuals have utilized KeyTrain to improve
their basic skills
 More than 100 individuals have taken the Career Readiness
Certificate
 EastBay Works (14 One Stops and 4 WIBS) have committed
to implementing KeyTrain within their One Stops and to utilize
WorkKeys to certificate jobseekers
 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has adopted the
WorkKeys NCRC as applicant intake tool when recruiting for
their machinist apprenticeship program

16. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 Chabot College will launch its training partnership with BMW
in August 2010. All program graduates must have a 5 or
higher in the WorkKeys Reading for information and Applied
Technology assessments
 Chabot College faculty will be utilizing KeyTrain as a test
preparation and remediation tool for all program enrollees
to ensure their assessment success
 Conducted a sub-pilot with Cabrillo College and the Santa
Cruz WIB

17. KeyTrain and WorkKeys Career Readiness Pilot
 Lessons Learned
 Real collaborations have to create value for each partner
 Need to think long-term, rather than quick-response
 Pilot projects need to have clear goals, clear roles and
commitments. They need to be flexible and agile to
respond to changes
 Pilot projects allow you to develop a strong relationship with
your partners, build trust
 Find champions
 Be patient, be persistent, and communicate regularly

18. Successful Partnerships
California Clean Energy Workforce
Training Program
Long Beach City College WpLRC
Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Board

19. California Clean Energy Workforce Training
 Challenge: Long Beach area was facing high
unemployment in the construction trades due to a poor
economy and basic skills gap
 Partners:
 Long Beach City College
 Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Board
 Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium
 Port of Long Beach
 Over 25 employer partners in the Green Industry
 Small Business Development Center

20. California Clean Energy Workforce Training
 Solution: Apply for and receive funding to train a
regional workforce in three categories:
 Incumbent construction trade workers
 New construction trades entrants
 Advanced transportation workers
 What we developed:
 Developed short-term, targeted training for each sector
 Included worker skills assessments
 Created an extended orientation to prepare students for
training

21. California Clean Energy Workforce Training
 How we did it:
 Collaborated with industry to determine skills needed
 Leveraged established partners and their strengths
• WIB/One-Stop recruits
• CC conducts training
 Utilized existing resources through the EWD Initiatives to
maximize connections with industry and other resources
 Enlisted industry partners to deliver required placements

22. California Clean Energy Workforce Training
 Results:
 To date we have trained over 190 clients
• Plan to train and assess another 250 clients in the next 12
months
 Lessons Learned
 Communication is critical
 Continually work on building trust with partners
 Make sure that the team represents leadership and those
responsible for implementation
 Be available for your partners and willing to assist on other
projects

23. Top Ten Lessons Learned

24. Top Ten Lessons Learned
10. Step outside of the box and your comfort
zone
9. Be creative with resources, leverage
minimal resources to create the biggest
impact
8. Work on building trust with your partners
7. Approach the partnership as a marriage
rather than as a date
6.Real collaborations have to create value for
each partner

25. Top Ten Lessons Learned
5. Respect and appreciate institutional
differences
4. Build on the strengths of the partnership to
explore new opportunities
3. Recruit project champions
2. Communicate Often
1. Good things take work and effort and the
return is rarely immediate or obvious

26. Panel Discussion
 Questions and Answers

27. Contact Us
 Bruce Whistler, Statewide Director
Workplace Learning Resource Initiative
e: bwhistler@cccewd.net
p: 650.641.0161
 Judi Watkins, Project Director
Chabot-Las Positas CCD, WpLRC
e: jwatkins@clpccd.org
p: 925.560.9447
 Carina Serrano, Director
Long Beach City College, WpLRC
e: cserrano@lbcc.edu
p: 562.938.5053