Studies show that there are millions of Americans who are capable of taking on high quality jobs – they have the skills, the work ethic, and the experience they need to succeed. But they can’t even apply for these jobs because they don’t have a college degree.
California is part of a multi-state movement to fix this problem and give these people access to better jobs. This month the state took a step forward, with Governor Gavin Newsom announcing a new plan to increase access to tens of thousands of good jobs.
“Every Californian deserves the opportunity to build real-life skills and pursue a fulfilling career — including those that don’t require college degrees,” Newsom said. “California is working to ensure that every person has what they need to get a well-paying, long-lasting job so we can build an economy for the future that supports all families.”
The California Master Plan for Career Education was developed after leaders in California’s education and workforce agencies, along with employers, labor, and community-based organizations, developed a set of new ideas for creating more equitable access to fulfilling, good quality, jobs. These ideas were presented to thousands of Californians during 2024, and their feedback created the plan’s final form.
Under the plan, the number of state jobs that will no longer require a college diploma will more than double. It will also emphasize career education programs to help people without degrees get and demonstrate the technical skills they need to step into new jobs. It will:
- Increase access to training and education,
- Establish a statewide collaborative of educators, job training providers, and employers working together to get help people get qualified and get jobs in good-paying industries
- Create new digital tools to help people demonstrate their job qualifications to potential employers
- Develop ways that military veterans can turn their experience into college credit
Among other initiatives.
The full plan will be unveiled next year, Newsom said, and will be funded in next year’s budget.
The Master Plan For Career Education is a big new step in a long-time California priority to help “stranded workers” access higher education and better jobs. In 2018 California founded Calbright Community College, a ground-breaking statewide, online, community college district which offered industry-aligned credentials instead of traditional degrees.
This emphasis on skills-based learning is increasingly what employers are looking for. According to a report from Jobs For The Future, 81% of employers think they should be hiring based on the skills someone has, rather than the degree they were awarded; and 68% think they should be hiring graduates of programs that don’t even award degrees, as long as the students learn the right skills. Calbright prepares students for this new reality, helping students get new jobs and better careers on their own timeline.
Focused on adult learners, Calbright eliminates significant barriers to attending college and getting important new skills.
- Calbright is free to all Californians, eliminating cost barriers.
- Calbright accepts every adults with a high school diploma or degree who applies, eliminating admissions barriers
- Calbright digital classes can be accessed from anywhere, and it provides students in need with free wifi hotspots and laptops, eliminating location and technology barriers
- Calbright’s classes can be taken whenever the student wants, on their schedule, and are flexibly placed so that students go as slowly or quickly as they need. This eliminates time barriers.
Calbright is helping thousands of Californians get the credentials they want effectively. It’s another big step in a movement to help everyone find careers they can thrive in. Each step gets us closer.
