A respected nonpartisan policy research organization has released a comprehensive and useful policy tool to assess and advance higher education and workforce outcomes.
California Competes: Higher Education for Strong Economy has updated its California Postsecondary to Prosperity Dashboard, which weaves together 15 datasets to provide comprehensive insights into the state of opportunity in higher education, employment, and quality of life across California’s diverse regions and counties.
The Dashboard is a user-friendly tool for policymakers, researchers, and other interested stakeholders to understand the achievements and missed opportunities in the pathways from education to prosperity within the state. The Dashboard is designed for many different audiences, but for employers in particular the tool can be used to:
- To identify regions/counties of interest, consider your business operations, customer base, and employee demographics, including their residential locations.
- Explore the Dashboard’s analyses for these regions and populations and reflect on the following questions:
- What disparities are evident?
- What aspects appear equitable in these regions?
- How does this comparison align with your understanding of the areas where you conduct business, where your customers reside, and where your employees live?
- Evaluate how these regions compare to others and reflect on how this comparison influences your business strategies. How does regional educational attainment and workforce readiness impact decisions such as staff recruitment and location choices?
- Specifically, regarding your employees, examine the impact of postsecondary access on their professional development and training. Consider if issues of access influence your business activities and operational decisions.
California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy is a nonpartisan policy and research organization focused on identifying solutions to California’s most critical higher education and workforce issues.
