Talent & Workforce

LA County’s Got Talent!

The Los Angeles Basin is the largest metropolitan area on the West Coast. Although primarily known for its motion picture, aerospace and fashion industries, the region comprises a much more diverse economy and is poised to provide a pipeline of critical, creative, and innovative workers to satisfy the needs of forward-thinking companies for the 21st century.

Los Angeles County, with 19 Community Colleges (Strong Workforce Program) and more than 120 colleges and universities, has consistently drawn companies from all over the world for one primary reason: its world-class talent pool for nearly every occupational category.

Community Colleges

The Los Angeles area Community Colleges are a vital part of the education and workforce development landscape, educating nearly two-thirds of all postsecondary students in the county. These nineteen Community Colleges together serve half a million students each year, with access to cutting edge programs in Life Sciences, Biosciences, and Biotechnology.

Universities

The LA region is home to three of the top universities in the world: The highly regarded California Institute of Technology, UCLA and the University of Southern California. These top institutions, along with numerous other colleges and universities;

Produce more engineers combined than anywhere else in the country
Produce more Ph.D. and graduate students than any other county in America.

More information on local universities is coming soon!

Leading industry-education partnerships to strengthen our region’s talent development ecosystem.

LA’s Center for a Competitive Workforce equips workers and job-seekers in a rapidly evolving economy.

The CCW’s mission is to support bold and far-reaching strategies to most effectively and efficiently equip workers and job-seekers in a rapidly evolving economy. We directly assist employers and educational faculty with various resources.

HOW CCW DELIVERS ON THIS MISSION:

1 – Data-driven research and analysis on the supply and demand for talent, to inform college faculty, employers and job-seekers about career paths and the changing skills requirements in our fast changing economy.

2 – Industry and Employer Engagement, led by LAEDC, to convene business leaders and faculty, to strengthen relationships and communication, identify trends in skills and competencies, and build efficient talent development programs.

3 – Developing work-based learning opportunities to enable students to explore careers, apply their education and training, understand employer expectations and contextual mixed learning, receive professional mentoring, and on the job experience. (e.g. internship and apprenticeship). This also encourages employers to co-invest in the job and career readiness of students.

4 – CCW Workforce & Education Portal, accessible on this website, which creates a regional infrastructure to efficiently connect students, colleges and employers in real time, to share and activate job leads and work-based learning opportunities on a Salesforce community platform.

CCW is a collaboration between the 19 community colleges in the LA region and the LAEDC, funded through California’s Strong Workforce Program.

Learn More

Community College Resources

Los Angeles Community Colleges offer robust programs and resources in bioscience career pathways. Click each unique college logo below for more information.