Although the idea of hosting regional advisory meetings is not a new one, this event embodied the perfect combination of vision, resources and people to deliver one of the most effective advisories this region has ever seen.

“This was a great meeting! Informative, fun, and what a great panel to learn from,” said Nikki Cook, Employment Placement Coordinator at Moreno Valley College.

Educators were seated as audience members and asked directed questions of the panel of 11 industry experts from the digital media sector. These professionals spoke to topics including hiring practices, entry-level skill requirements, education vs technical skills and ethics.

The idea for this event stemmed from efforts to cultivate a new regional approach toward meeting workforce demands through a collaboration between The Inland Empire Economic Partnership (IEEP) and the Strong Workforce Program’s regional Deputy Sector Navigators (DSNs).

“With the development of ‘Advisory Communities’, DSNs will each build their respective ‘community’ by career sector,” explained Susanne Mata, ICT-Digital Media DSN for the Inland Empire/Desert region. “These efforts will support economic growth as well as growth in high-demand Career Education programs.”

With the partnerships of business/industry and educational institutions (community colleges and secondary schools), Career Education (CE) Pathways will become more relevant. Students will be well-prepared to meet workforce demands and business/industry will have access to local, highly-qualified employees.

Mata will provide day-to-day project management, including college and industry partner coordination, research, strategic planning, and performance reporting to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

Ultimately, regional businesses will thrive and students will work in their chosen career field with necessary skills and certificates, earning a living wage, and prepared for additional training and education, as necessary, to reach their goals.

“The Digital Media Advisory Community meeting was very well-received and extremely effective at engaging education and business at the same time,” said Mata.

As a result of careful planning and marketing efforts, more than 100 educators and business representatives attended the event. Business experts represented Riverside and San Bernardino Counties as well as Los Angeles and Orange Counties. CE faculty from the following Inland Empire Desert Regional colleges participated in the event (nine of twelve colleges were represented):

• Chaffey College
• Crafton Hills College
• Moreno Valley College
• Mt. San Jacinto College
• Norco College
• Riverside City College
• San Bernardino Valley College
• Victor Valley College

Additionally, CE faculty from K-12 school districts and ROPs throughout both counties attended, including but not limited to CRY-ROP, Corona-Norco Unified, Fontana Unified, Hesperia, Redlands Unified, Riverside Unified, Snowline, Temecula Valley Unified, Victor Valley Unified, and Val Verde Unified School District.

Additional Advisory Community meetings will take place during the 2017/18 school year in the following sectors: Advanced Transportation; Information and Communications Technology (ICT); and Small Business/Entrepreneurship.

For more information or to join a CE Advisory Community, visit, https://ict-dm.net/