Since 2017, the Los Angeles Center of Excellence (COE) has been part of a productive regional collaboration with the Center for a Competitive Workforce (CCW) which spurred the creation of more than 20 deep-dive reports analyzing the varied facets of Los Angeles’ vibrant economy.

CCW was the product of a collaboration among the region’s 19 community colleges, COE, and the Los Angeles Employment Development Corporation (LAEDC), funded through the California Community Colleges’ Strong Workforce Program (SWP).

CCW fostered engagement between community colleges and employers from industry sectors with middle-skill jobs projected to undergo strong growth in the region.

Over the last six years, the research and reporting output of CCW has been both prolific and practical for regional planning. As a result of this collaboration, the LA COE co-authored with the LAEDC’s Institute for Applied Economics labor market reports that examined topics ranging from global commerce to equity issues affecting students and workers in the region, as well as factors affecting essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The collaboration’s 2017 baseline report was entitled L.A. & Orange County Community Colleges: Powering Economic Opportunity. 

Thanks to the hard work of the economists and researchers at LAEDC and COE, this collection of labor market reports has highlighted the importance of aligning the educational preparation of middle-skill workers with the nuanced needs of the labor market in Los Angeles County.You can access the library of labor market reports on the CCW website, or through the COE website by clicking here.