LEARNAn Inclusive, Next-Gen Digital Career Navigation Hub for LA’s Green Jobs (Presented by Gladeo and LACI)
Our project is to partner with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) to build out a “Green Careers in Los Angeles” section for Gladeo’s existing free, online, youth-friendly career exploration platform, which is already being used by thousands of learners in LA. This new microsite will serve as both a “Virtual Career Day” as well as a digital information hub for “green career” pathway information, educational and training program finder, and job recruiting portal for opportunities in one of the fastest-growing industries in Los Angeles.
In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
County of Los Angeles
In what stage of innovation is this project?
Applying a proven model or solution to a new issue or sector (e.g, using a job recruiting software or strategy to match clients to supportive housing sites, applying demonstrated strategies from advocating for college affordability to advocating for housing affordability and homelessness, etc.)
Please list the organizations collaborating on this proposal.
LACI - Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
If you are submitting a collaborative proposal, please describe the specific role of partner organizations in the project.
A major barrier to fulfilling the promise of green jobs is the ability to link quality career training and placement programs directly with job opportunities. LACI ( https://laincubator.org/apcfellowship/) closes the loop in workforce development for the burgeoning green economy by providing continuity from identification of real-world demand for skills to training and job placement by connecting graduates of its workforce development programs directly with portfolio companies. They will:
1. Create a list of green career pathways
2. Connect us to employers who will allow us to interview employees for career videos, spotlights and profiles
3. Create a list of reputable educational / training programs that LACI recommends for each career pathway
4. Fact Check our career profile content
What is the need you’re responding to?
Data shows that the major barriers to fulfilling the promise of green jobs are not lack of training programs or skilled workforce, but rather a time-delay skills mismatch (i.e., a rapidly changing industry’s workforce needs outpacing program development and recruitment timelines) primarily due to the lack of connection between quality career training programs with employers who will eventually hire trainees. Leveraging its unique assets as a nonprofit cleantech incubator, LACI closes the loop in workforce development for the burgeoning green economy by providing continuity from identification of real-world demand for workforce skills to training and job placement. Together with LACI, Gladeo’s new learner-facing microsite for “Green Careers in Los Angeles” will serve as a valuable platform for communicating timely, industry-vetted information directly with learners in a way that’s cost-effective, sustainable, and adaptable to the long-term needs of a continuously changing industry.
Why is this project important to the work of your organization?
Our project possesses significant cost effectiveness and outsized impact potential because it leverages Gladeo’s existing career exploration platform (www.gladeo.org), an existing user base, and an extensive library of career content which highlights the broad spectrum of career pathways and diverse professionals in Los Angeles. Our team is experienced in tech product development, human-centered UX design, and video and digital content. Our team is also experienced engaging with stakeholders across the public and private sectors including employers, trade unions, K-14 education, workforce training, and government career centers. Together with the team at LACI and our combined working relationships with Los Angeles-based K-14 school districts, workforce career centers, and job training programs like Job Corps, we will achieve system-wide distribution of our free resource across the LA region, ensuring that we reach our target audience efficiently and effectively.
Approximately how many people will be impacted by this proposal?
Direct Impact: 75,000
Indirect Impact: 500,000
Please describe the broader impact of your proposal.
Our project will help fulfill the promise that “green jobs” will rebuild the stock of solid middle-class jobs in America. Our regional microsite “Green Careers in Los Angeles” will serve as a model for future regional green job microsites across the U.S., as well as for other industries facing similar kinds of workforce challenges.
With inclusivity at the core of our design and distribution principles, our project will ensure that low-income and underrepresented learners have equitable access to and the best chance of success in green career paths. Entering the workforce with a level of job readiness will reduce attrition and increase job performance, which thereby contributes to productivity, efficiency and economic growth.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.
Outcome #1 (Awareness): To expand career awareness for low-income and first-generation students to “green career” paths in the LA region.
Outputs: # of new visitors/subscribers, # of video views, # of Spotlight interviews read, # of Career Profiles read, Time on Site, # of Career and Industry follows
Outcomes: (through online user surveys)
Short-Term: Did Gladeo introduce you to a green career path you previously had little or no knowledge about? Did Gladeo help you decide to pursue a green career?
Outcome #2 (Training): To expand access to quality information about green careers and skills. To increase enrollment in employer-vetted local community college programs, workforce training programs, and apprenticeships.
Outputs: # of Click Thrus (and Conversions when trackable) to educational programs, CTE programs, meetup events, internship/job postings, apprenticeship programs, online courses. (We will also gather 2nd party data from our partners)
Outcomes:
Did Gladeo help you learn about what education or training you needed to pursue your green career? If yes, have you enrolled in an education or training program? Which one?
Outcome #3 (Employment): To increase job placement rate of newly-trained entry-level workers.
Outputs: # of Click Thrus to internship/job postings, apprenticeships.
Outcomes: (Through Gladeo user surveys, profile updates, and program reviews)
Short-Term: Upon completion (or within 6 months) of your training program, did you gain employment in a green job that you otherwise would not have been qualified for?
Which of the LEARN metrics will your submission impact?
College matriculation
High school graduation rates
Community college completion
Are there any other LA2050 goal categories that your proposal will impact?
LA is the best place to CONNECT
Which of LA2050’s resources will be of the most value to you?
Access to the LA2050 community
Host public events or gatherings
Communications support
Office space for meetings, events, or for staff
Capacity, including staff
Strategy assistance and implementation