The San Diego/Imperial Center of Excellence (COE) has released an Equity Gaps in Priority Jobs and Programs report that focuses on Imperial County. This report was replicated from a similar report released in February 2023 for San Diego County. 

For each report, the COE analyzed postsecondary education and labor market data and defined priority areas to address equity gaps in community college programs and the jobs that they may lead to.

The Imperial County study defined a priority job as one with at least 10 annual openings that requires at least a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree, pays above the living wage of $15.24/hour for a single adult, and typically requires fewer than five years of work experience. A priority program is defined as a community college program that trains for a priority job.

The COE presented the report to the College Leadership Council at Imperial Valley College in July. The presentation provided an opportunity to share key insights from the study, including how Imperial Valley College could develop targeted recruitment and retention strategies for priority programs for underrepresented groups.