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MONTEREY BAY CAREER CONNECT

Mapping Career Pathways and Trainings That Build Valuable Skills

What if there were a roadmap connecting students to the resources that could guide them toward their career goals?

Monterey Bay Career Connect — a collaborative effort of Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and Bright Futures, sponsored by local colleges, workforce development boards, community foundations, and county office of education— is meeting that need with its easy-to-use online portal designed to help youth in the Monterey Bay Region successfully navigate career pathways.

The updated Career Pathways page allows users to discover in-demand career pathways filtering by location or industry. The site now has 15 industry sectors to filter by aligned with the California Department of Education's Career Technical Education (CTE) Career Pathways.

The online portal now makes it even easier to connect students with the resources that will build valuable job skills, with a new How to Develop Skills page that allows users to find resources quickly and easily. This new feature, searchable by location or age level, provides a broad array of local programs, classes, and workshops that provide skills-based training, youth activities, and online tools to develop skills.

SHARE YOUR CAREER EXPERTISE

Your Future is Our Business Seeks Professionals for College & Career Expos, Career Panels and More

Your Future is Our Business, a nonprofit linking Santa Cruz County students to career exploration opportunities, is seeking businesses and professionals to share their journey, give practical advice, and answer students' career questions in a wide range of local college and career expos, career panels, and career experience days. Upcoming events include a College & Career Expo on Oct. 18 at Harbor High School, and a Career Experience Day on Oct. 23 at Shoreline Middle School. Email or visit YFIOB for details.

They also recently launched "What To Be," a KSQD 90.7fm radio show sharing career stories and building a community of people eager to help students explore careers and provide work-based learning experiences. Listen Sundays at 7 p.m. at 90.7fm or via Soundcloud. Interested in being a guest speaker on the show? Contact the show today!

Meet Our New Student Ambassador Team

Our current team of Student Ambassadors (clockwise from top left): Amy Ferrasci, Comunity Outreach Volunteer, Cabrillo College, Gabrielle Davila, CSU Monterey Bay, Gurpinder Kaur, CSU Monterey Bay, Harsh Patel, CSU Monterey Bay, Ellen Zhong, Graduate Practicum Intern, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Sarah Baghdadi, UC Santa Cruz, Nichol Veles, CSU Monterey Bay, Ismael Rocha, CSU Monterey Bay.

MBEP's Student Ambassadors are helping spread the word about Monterey Bay Career Connect (MBCC) and Monterey Bay Internships (MBI) on college campuses in the Monterey Bay region. At the same time, they're working on special projects to support MBEP's workforce development initiative and building leadership skills that will serve them well as they're pursuing their own career paths. Read more about our eight new Student Ambassadors here. College students interested in joining our Student Ambassador team are encouraged to l earn more and apply here.

Reflections from a Student Ambassador

Nichol Veles (pictured below), a Monterey Bay Career Connect Student Ambassador and Sustainable Hospitality major at California State University, Monterey Bay, reflects on her internship experience.

I began my journey of promoting Monterey Bay Career Connect and MBEP's workforce development initiative in the Fall of 2018 and, through the coaching of Program Specialist Ashley Gauer and Program Manager Hayley Mears, I experienced the opportunity to network with so many wonderful and ambitious individuals.

Amongst my duties and experiences, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak in May on a student panel at the Industry-Education Counselor Summit and share parts of my story. Never have I ever had the confidence and ease of assisting students to navigate their dreams and job searches. Monterey Bay Career Connect and Monterey Bay Internships have made access and availability for student success a game-changer.

As for my future and what it entails: I will forever be an ambassador of MBEP and my hope is that I can continue to inspire and motivate students from all lifestyles to take charge and push towards your dreams. My number one takeaway from this internship is that when you're willing to learn and step out on faith, there is nothing you cannot accomplish.

ENGINEERING A FUTURE

Cabrillo College Etech Program Creates Hands-On Opportunities for Engineering Students

Students in the Engineering Technology (Etech) program at Cabrillo College aren't just sitting at their desks listening to lectures: They're helping design projects, creating 3D printed parts and drafting home additions for real-world projects. Classes currently offered include Etech 75 (Tiny Homes and More) and Etech 24 (Intro to AutoCAD), which covers the fundamental operating principles of AutoCAD drafting/design software.

Thanks to industry advisors, a hands-on approach and technical support for students in the workplace. the Etech program has a student success rate that continually meets or exceeds 90 percent, according to Cabrillo's statistics, and a success rate for underrepresented minorities that typically surpasses 80 percent.

The evening-based program leads to an Associate of Science Degree certificates in six areas:

Architecture Drafting and Design
Civil/Survey Drafting
Computer-Aided Drafting
Design Skills Certificate
Computer Animation Skills Certificate
Manufacturing Specialist
Technology and Trades

Architectural design, civil survey drafting, computer-aided drafting, computer animation, and manufacturing are among the specialty trades students can pursue. The future for those fields looks bright: According to the Employment Development Department’s Labor Market Information data, the Etech-related workforce is 72 percent undersupplied within Alameda, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.

Cabrillo's Etech program also offers a pathway for students who want to complete their engineering lower-division coursework in its Engineering Transfer program, then transfer to a four-year university to complete a bachelor’s degree, l earn more.

Read more coverage about Etech from the Register-Pajaronian.
News and photo courtesy of Cabrillo College.

SERVING DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

UC Santa Cruz, California State University, Monterey Bay Among Leading Universities for Social Mobility

The University of California Santa Cruz is among the top colleges in the country at advancing social mobility: According to a new U.S. News and World Report ranking, the public university placed second in the nation at effectively serving economically disadvantaged students. The report looked at how colleges across the U.S. performed at enrolling and graduating disadvantaged students who received Pell Grants, most of whom had adjusted gross family incomes of under $50,000.

"There is profound value in earning a college degree with lifelong impacts," Chancellor Cynthia Larive said. “UC Santa Cruz is proud to be recognized for our efforts to provide access to a high-quality educational experience and especially for the impact this experience provides to low income and first-generation students over their lifetime.”

That impact is significant: According to the research by the Equality of Opportunity Project and the CLIMB Initiative, the University of California students from low-income families go on to earn as much as students who came from middle-income families, and by a decade after graduation, their earnings double. This year, UC Santa Cruz will educate more than 5,700 students from low-income backgrounds.

Among regional western universities, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) ranked third in the social mobility ranking while 10 other CSU campuses dominated the top 20 in graduating Pell Grant-eligible students. Of the half a million students the CSU system enrolls each year, roughly half are Pell-eligible and nearly one-third are the first in their family to attend college. CSUMB also ranked No. 8 in top public schools in the Regional Universities West category, and No. 26 amongst all private and public regional universities in the West. Read more.
News courtesy of UC Santa Cruz and U.S. News & World Report, photo courtesy of UC Santa Cruz.

PREPARING FOR LAUNCH

Institute for Innovation and Economic Development Readying Business Incubator

Applications will be accepted beginning Oct. 15 for a new business incubator designed to help early-stage companies. The incubator is being launched by the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development (iiED) at California State University, Monterey Bay, thanks to an $850,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration grant. The matching grant also comes with commitments from local donors including Union Bank, First National Bank, Wells Fargo and Taylor Farms. “I see this as a huge opportunity to really develop entrepreneurship in the entire region,” said Director Brad Barbeau, “particularly for South Monterey County, South Santa Cruz County and San Benito County.”

The business incubator will provide mentorship, workshops and other support to select companies, in partnership with Santa Cruz Works and other local organizations. The Institute for Innovation and Economic Development already hosts popular events such as its Startup Weekend, a Hackathon, Startup Investment & Community Capital Expo and the Startup Challenge. Read more

News and video courtesy of Santa Cruz Works.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Discover CSUMB: Open Campus 2019, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 at various locations on campus. Featuring admissions presentations, interactive academic demonstrations, food truck extravaganza, live entertainment, and much more. The event is free and open to the public. Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m. at parking lot 59. RSVP

Ted Taylor Ag Vocational Center Ribbon Cutting, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, 710 Old Stage Road, Salinas. Rancho Cielo celebrates the opening the Ted Taylor Vocational Center with a ribbon cutting with the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce. Ted Taylor Ag Vocational Center will train young people for highly-skilled, living-wage jobs in Monterey County’s largest industry. The 30,000-square-foot facility houses programs that incorporate job skills training, diploma-based academics, behavioral health counseling, life skills development and enrichment opportunities for the youth. Its programs map into Hartnell College’s curriculum, and the students take Hartnell courses as part of their Rancho Cielo education.

Industry partners will train Rancho Cielo students on skills including Salad Factory Line Repair and Maintenance/Refrigeration Technician/Food Safety/Electrical, Sustainable Construction/Tiny Home Construction, Tractor and Automotive Repair, and Ag Futures/Robotics/Production.

The ribbon will be cut at 5:30 p.m. RSVP by Oct. 17, email. Allison Cady or call (831) 444-3507.

Sign up now for Slug Tank, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Merrill Cultural Center, Santa Cruz. UC Santa Cruz's student business pitching contest gives budding student innovators and entrepreneurs a chance to bring their dreams to fruition. Each team will get five minutes to present ideas to judges ranging from founders of billion-dollar empires to industry experts, venture capitalists and investors. Slug Tank offers a chance to get valuable feedback on ideas; build personal connections with investors and mentors; and win up to $1,000 in prize money. Register here (ignore the sign-up deadline) or email your name, project title and a quick sentence to describe your idea.

Discover NPS Day, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 at the Naval Postgraduate School campus in Monterey. The event will be focused on STEM education outreach and interactive activities. Last year, an estimated 2,200 school children along with their accompanying teachers and parents, and community members from across the Monterey region streamed through the campus to touch, build, drive and be inspired through experiencing what actually happens on the other side of the university’s gates. Learn more
Pictured: Students launch bottle rockets outside Spanagel Hall during Discover NPS Day last year. Photo courtesy of NPS.

Santa Cruz Young Professionals Mixer, 5:30-7:30 p.m Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Cruzio Internet, 877 Cedar St. #150, Santa Cruz. Come connect with young professionals ages 21-45 and engage with local organizations making a difference in Santa Cruz County. Hosted by Your Future Is Our Business/LinkSantaCruz, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, Santa Cruz Works, and Think Local First and Cruzio Internet. RSVP

MBEP’s Workforce Development Initiative seeks to create positive change through collaborative approaches that bring new resources to the region, amplify the impact of best practices, encourage the growth of start-ups and other companies, and help ease the transition of students to the workforce.

For a detailed overview, please check out our videos or visit the initiative's webpage.

For the latest news from the initiative, check out our quarterly Monterey Bay Career Connect newsletter.

MBEP Workforce Initiative Overview

Monterey Bay Career Connect Overview