LA partnership puts people to work

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Collaborative (LACEDC) has launched a Web portal that connects unemployed and low-paid workers with employment and training opportunities in targeted industries. Called Los Angeles County Workforce, the site also provides training resources and market information to area employers.

LACEDC is a partnership consisting of the California Workers Assistance Program AFL-CIO, the California Employment Development Department, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the Los Angeles/Orange County Community Colleges Consortium and the South Bay Private Industry Council. It is one of six regional groups supported by the state to create a comprehensive workforce development system that links job seekers, employers and education/training providers.

As part of its system development, LACEDC created profiles in the apparel, health services, food preparation, high tech/electronics and metalworking industries. It identified skill and education requirements within each industry; identified the skill and education gaps in the labor market; and compared those gaps to the scope and content of available training. Based on those profiles, the group developed the portal, which connects information systems from multiple sources and provides one-stop access to employment and training information.

Currently, the Web site focuses on metal manufacturing, food preparation and apparel manufacturing. Job seekers can log onto the site and find employment opportunities that often require only limited training. Employers can use the site to obtain labor market information and to post job openings. All users can take advantage of the site’s mapping features to locate job and training opportunities based on location.

“The mapping capability has a broad range of potential uses,” says Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “City economic development departments and chambers of commerce can use [it] for local planning and development projects; educational and training institutions can use it as part of the community scan needed to develop new course offerings; and, most importantly, workers seeking new skills can locate the training programs closest to their homes.”

Los Angeles County Workforce can be viewed at maps.laworkforce.org. Project Director Linda Wong can be contacted at [email protected].