Three Centers of Excellence (COE) Directors representing the South Central Coast (SCC), Inland Empire/Desert (IE/D), and Orange County (OC) regions delivered a joint presentation to nearly 250 community college leaders at the Statewide Convening on Apprenticeship Pathways in Costa Mesa, focusing on California’s next decade of work and the role apprenticeship must play in meeting the state’s workforce needs.

SCC COE Director Jacob Poore presented on Healthcare and Care Economy Expansion, noting that there is projected to be a significant demographic shift, with a 59% growth in adults 65 years and older by 2040. This shift will drive demand for elder care and in-home support services, underscoring the need to train more Home Health and Personal Care Aides and elder care roles. The state already faces a growing shortage of allied health professionals and needs more behavioral health professionals and care coordinators. Healthcare and Care Economy Expansion presents a system-level opportunity for California Community Colleges to train the workforce, build career ladders, and reflect the diversity of care through apprenticeship.

Colleagues Shannon Moran (IE/D COE) and Dr. Jesse Crete (OC COE) examined complementary workforce pressures: Director Moran highlighted the concept of the “Convergence Worker”, a new type of worker who blends physical trades, professional skills, and digital systems fluency. Dr. Crete outlined a “Rising Storm” of labor shortages, with population projected to outpace labor force growth nearly 8 to 1 and immigration declining, creating a potential deficit of 6 million workers by decade’s end.

Together, the directors concluded that California Community Colleges are uniquely positioned, through mission and infrastructure, to close these gaps. Apprenticeship is the fastest bridge from current conditions to future workforce needs.

The full presentation is available here.