California State University, Los Angeles, recently announced that, in partnership with Growth Sector and Caltrans, it successfully hosted the inaugural Building Bridges to STEM Careers Expo at Cal State LA.
This expansion builds on the success of the first cohort launched in Contra Costa County by the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa and Contra Costa College, one of 11 California community colleges selected for the program.
The Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County acts as the lead agency for the national Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Pathway initiative, which is financed by a $5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs program.
The STEM Core Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Pathway is a national effort led by Growth Sector to address educational disparities and workforce shortages.
The program aims to provide community college students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, with a clear and supported pathway to earning a four-year STEM degree and achieving career success.
The event brought together students, faculty, public sector leaders, and employers to launch the STEM Core Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Pathway, which aims to create direct, supported pathways from community colleges to bachelor’s degrees and employment in civil and general engineering.
The event gathered over 100 students, including Summer Bridge participants from Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College, and Los Angeles Mission College, along with 25 current STEM Core engineering interns from Cal State LA’s Summer Making, Academic Prep, and Research for Transfer Students (SMART) Internship Program.
Attendees participated in a full day of interactive activities, industry panels, and networking with partners from both the public and private sectors.
Growth Sector hopes to inspire more community college students to seek and achieve high-wage engineering careers through programs like this, which help to show students there is a pathway and it’s open to them.
The model includes academic support, mentoring, and paid work experiences that align with each stage of students’ academic progression. Participants in the pathway begin with a Summer Bridge experience, followed by paid internships in their second year and apprenticeships in their third, while completing their bachelor’s degrees.
Caltrans and other leading employers like NASA, JPL, Northrop Grumman, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are among the program’s early partners, offering students real-world experience and access to engineering and infrastructure careers.
The effort in California is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program, as well as private philanthropic partners including the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Crankstart, Tipping Point Community, Sobrato Philanthropies, and ECMC Foundation.
To date, Growth Sector has supported over 3,300 community college students across five states, placing more than 1,000 students in paid internships and setting a new national standard for STEM career preparation.
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