The BIPOC Bridge to Creative Careers

Access to Creative Industry Employment (sponsored by Snap Foundation)

City of Los Angeles

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative

BIPOC residents in Los Angeles are falling further behind their non-BIPOC counterparts in economic stability. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2020 report, Black and Hispanics make up 54.9% of people who experience the highest level of poverty. According to the 2020 Los Angeles Homeless Count, Black and Hispanics make up 71% of people experiencing homelessness. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2019 report, Black and Latinos have a total unemployment rate of 16% compared to non-BIPOC communities' rate of 5.9%. Young people aged 18-24 living in Los Angeles experience some of the highest unemployment and homeless rates. In order to end this cycle of unemployment and homelessness, there need to be innovative career paths that BIPOC young adults can gravitate towards. Generation Z struggles with employment, as they aim not to take traditional jobs and end up unemployed or underemployed. BIPOC young adults must be introduced to creative industries such as podcasting and photography.

This program will focus on two creative and innovative career tracks: podcasting and photography. Utilizing our agency exploration model, participants go through life skills, robust industry-specific training, experiential learning activities, internship or post-secondary exploration/enrollment, and job placement. Utilizing the cohort model, we will enroll 30 individuals into two cohorts that will last six months. All participants will go through our life skills curriculum in the first month. This includes completing a National Retail Federation (NRF) certification, Adobe Photoshop certification, and PVJOBS 9 Network Assessment. We aim to get all participants to understand essential aspects of customer service, photoshop, and basic computer skills. The second month of the program will focus on selecting a pathway of podcasting or photography and then go through an 8-week intensive training. The training will include an industry overview, hands-on learning, and weekly assignments. The fourth month will consist of experiential learning activities and completing two projects. This will allow participants to identify their passion and motivation for their pathway. Participants will either job shadow, intern, or plan for post-secondary or trade school in the fifth month. The six-month participants will identify a next step plan, including finding a long-term internship, job placement, college or trade school enrollment, or courses. The second cohort starts after the first ends.

This program aims to connect the BIPOC TAY population aged 18-24 to creative and innovative career tracks, such as podcasting and photography. This program will be life-changing for these participants, providing them with skills and tools in two robust industries. The podcast program will allow participants to share their lives and stories, interview others and touch on topics affecting youth and adults throughout Los Angeles County. Podcasts can be viewed and heard on various platforms, where participants can connect, share, and help bring positivity and awareness to the city and beyond. The photography program will enable participants to capture the city and preserve its history as the city changes. Participants will have the opportunity to take photos and videos around the city and county for mini-documentaries. Our main goal is to use our program to inspire others to think of innovative career tracks for future employment.

This program will connect 30 participants to the creative industries of podcasting and photography. We aim to ensure all participants can complete the 6-month program. In the first month, we measure success by participants obtaining the NRF and Adobe Photoshop certifications. Participants will select their pathway and complete weekly assignments in the second and third months, and we measure skill levels weekly. Upon completion of training, participants will do experiential learning activities in the fourth month and create two projects. We use projects to measure participants' understanding of the industry. In the fifth month, participants' success is measured by: internship, job shadow, or completed application for school or courses. The six-month success is measured by: long-term internship, job placement, or enrollment in school or courses in their pathway. We aim to have 70% of participants complete their certifications and 50% identify placement after program exit.