November 9, 1999

In the spring of 1997 the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and NOVA staff began discussions regarding the development of a practical reference tool designed specifically to assist those making the transition from Welfare-to-Work. This discussion was soon broadened to include assisting all economically disadvantaged individuals in our community. In September 1997, Packard Foundation provided $125,000 as seed money for the development of Career Ladders, a career information tool developed specifically for the economically disadvantaged in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Monterey Counties. In its inaugural year, the Career Ladders model was developed and implemented, with over 1,000 binders produced and 60,000 four-color copies of the Career Ladders Occupational Profiles, placed in to circulation throughout our four county area.

At its June 15, meeting, the Council acting on behalf of the six-city NOVA consortium, authorized staff to submit a proposal not to exceed $225,000 to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for the continued development of Career Ladders RTC 99-270. On June 23, the NOVA Private Industry Council concurred with the Sunnyvale City Council and authorized staff to conduct the negotiation required to secure the grant and to accept and operate the program should funding be awarded. On September 23,1999 the Board of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation awarded NOVA a grant of $216,901.58 to continue the operation of Career Ladders.

Staff recommends that the City Council, on behalf of the six-city NOVA consortium, concurs with the NOVA Private Industry Council and authorize the City Manager to accept a grant for $216,901.58 from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for the continuance of the Career Ladders Welfare-to-Work labor market information project.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has been an integral part of the development of the Career Ladders project. In September 1997, the Foundation provided $125,000 as seed money for the development of the Career Ladders labor market information reports within Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Monterey Counties. NOVA collaborated with four neighboring PICs to develop the research model and establish a report format that is accessible and appropriate for the given audience.

At their June 10, 1999 meeting, the Operations Committee of the NOVA PIC recommended the approval of staff’s request to submit a proposal to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for the continued development of the Career Ladders Welfare-to-Work labor market information project. The grant proposal was not to exceed $225,000 and to be submitted by June 15,1999 for consideration by Packard's Board at their September meeting. In order to meet the Packard Foundation’s requirement of Council and PIC approval prior to submission, John Love NOVA PIC Co-Chair, acting on behalf of the PIC as a whole, authorized staff to go forward with the submission of the proposal. At it's June 15, meeting, the Council acting on behalf of the six-city NOVA consortium, concurred with Co-Chair Love, authorizing the submittal of the proposal. At its June 23 meeting, the Private Industry Council concurred with Council and Co-Chair Love, and authorized staff to conduct the negotiation required to secure the grant and to accept and operate the grant should it be awarded. On September 23,1999, the Board of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation awarded NOVA a grant of $216,901.58 to continue the operation of Career Ladders.

Since 1983, the City of Sunnyvale has been a partner in a consortium of cities that make up the North Valley Job Training Consortium: Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. A Joint Powers Agreement vested the City of Sunnyvale to act on behalf of the consortium and administer Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) funds to provide employment and training programs for eligible adults and youth. NOVA has worked closely with the County to provide similar services to individuals on welfare.

The proposed activities are consistent with the City of Sunnyvale’s Socio-Economic Goal 5.1F: Provide job training and employment services, within constraints of operative Federal regulations and available Federal funding to address the locally-determined employment and training needs of economically disadvantaged residents and others with special needs.

In addition, the provision of job experience to qualified welfare recipients through NOVA was included as a recommended and approved action in Report to Mayor and Council No. 97-499, issued by the City Manager and reviewed at the Council meeting of December 16, 1997.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation approached NOVA in 1997 to develop a practical, tangible reference tool to assist families involved in the Welfare-to-Work transition, as well as other economically disadvantaged individuals on the road to self-sufficiency. The goal of the Career Ladders project is to provide clear and accurate data to employment training counselors, their clients, and various third-party agencies to foster effective career and training decisions. The project was developed to support the concept that assisting economically disadvantaged families to become more independent and self-reliant means much more than funneling these individuals into low-skill, minimum-wage jobs. Additionally, those desiring to identify careers that allow for advancement through continued training and/or education can benefit from Career Ladders.

Career Ladders is the result of research conducted in each of the four following counties: Santa Clara, Monterey, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz. Career Ladders provides 60 profiles (15 per county) of 29 different, yet accessible, occupations. The occupations represent a wide spectrum of career opportunities, all of which offer promising opportunities for families seeking self-sufficiency. The information contained in each profile includes the job description, education and training requirements, wages, growth expectations, and desirable soft skills. The research identifies "career ladders" and provides details on wages and the necessary training and skills for each advancing "rung." The profiles also include first-hand accounts of individuals in the given position—what they currently do and how they achieved that particular job title.

The project produced 1,000 Career Ladders binders and a total of 60,000 four-color copies of the Career Ladders Occupational Profiles, all of which were debuted at four successful public presentations across the represented region. The four counties have distributed all or nearly all of their allocated binders with continued requests for more.

Through Career Ladders, employment training counselors and their clients have gained access to information on entry level career options available to them, as well as how skill enhancement and education can provide additional career opportunities. For families seeking self-sufficiency, there is now a reference tool to provide current vital information for a unique segment of the population.

Career Ladders has become an essential component of the labor market information services provided by NOVA. Career Ladders has allowed NOVA to develop labor market information for a segment of our community NOVA was not previously able to support. Prior to receiving funding from the Packard Foundation, NOVA’s LMI projects either were developed for the general public through the California Cooperative Occupational Information System or focused on the needs of dislocated workers through our Labor Market Information Plus (LMI+) project. Packard’s support has made possible the development of an LMI product specifically targeting the needs of those involved in the transition from welfare to work and, ultimately, for those families characterized as the working poor. Career Ladders, now in its second printing, has been extremely well received, with over 1300 copies in circulation throughout the four counties.

In light of the initial success of the project, NOVA staff, in consultation with the Packard Foundation, developed a plan for the continued evolution of Career Ladders. The essential elements of this plan were set forth in a proposal submitted to the Foundation on June 15, 1999. On September 23, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation awarded NOVA a grant of $216,901.58 to continue the operation of Career Ladders.

The proposed program include sthe following elements:

• Expanding research to encompass additional career paths, including new or emerging entry-level occupations;

• Expanding the current project model to profile occupations within growing industries for each respective county; and

• Making Career Ladders available on both the Internet and in CONNECT! public-access kiosks.

Sufficient resources will be made available through this grant to cover all anticipated expenditures.

Staff recommends that the City Council, on behalf of the six-city NOVA consortium, concurs with the NOVA Private Industry Council and authorize the City Manager to accept a grant for $216,901.58 from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for the continuance of the Career Ladders Welfare-to-Work labor market information project.

Prepared by:

Rob Gamble
Employment Training Mgr.

Reviewed by:

Michael J. Curran
Director

Approved by:

Robert S. LaSala
City Manager