As California continues building toward a fully integrated education-to-career system, UNITE-LA joined partners from the Los Angeles Regional Consortium (LARC) and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) at the Statewide K–16 Collaborative Peer Convening in San Diego on Jan. 29 and 30. The gathering brought together representatives from all 13 regional collaboratives to align on sustainability, funding strategies and measurable outcomes for California’s education-to-career system.

The convening focused on how regions can transition from time-limited pilot efforts to permanent, coordinated infrastructure that supports student success at scale. Participants engaged with leaders from K-12, community colleges, universities, workforce boards, GO-Biz and the California Workforce Development Board to assess progress, identify structural barriers and plan for long-term sustainability. Key discussions addressed sustaining staffing beyond one-time grants, improving cross-system coordination, aligning K-16 efforts with California Jobs First and Strong Workforce investments and advancing clearer statewide metrics to track credentials, pathway participation and employment outcomes.

The L.A. region contributed insights from its cross-sector collaboration spanning 80 school districts, 27 public higher education institutions and seven workforce boards—reinforcing the importance of sustained investment, stronger data alignment and shared advocacy to support long-term systems change across California.

Building on this partner-driven opportunity, the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative has joined a new advisory committee for the CA Jobs First LA Collaborative. The Investment & Sustainability Advisory Committee (ISAC) is focused on advancing long-term sustainability; supporting implementation of regional activation plans; identifying new and diverse funding sources; and coordinating advocacy efforts. Through this role, the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative is strengthening alignment and coordination of the initiatives, reinforcing strategies for a stronger future.

For more information, please reach out to Adam Gottlieb, Director of Postsecondary Strategy & Policy, at [email protected].